Project: White Wolf
by ArtElf
Summary: Derek C Simmons was a man who stopped the Government from releasing information about the Raccoon City Incident, killing over 70,000 people in the process. An attack on a Global Network company, leaves the Government missing all information on everything since Umbrella. Two men go up against the worlds worse virus: Television.
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 1:**

_In The Deep End._

12th August, 2013.

Light flashed behind closed eyelids, a source of confusion swam through his conscience. Dull drumming echoed through ear drums, the mind unable to identify if the sound was of its imagination or of reality. Eyes shielded and unseeing, and yet seeing everything. The soft ground beneath him seemed to tremble, accompanied by what his trained mind decided was an explosion somewhere close by. His thoughts were jumbled and dazed, heart seemed to want to beat out of his chest, causing blood to course through his body quickly and making his head spin.

Some say that drowning was the most soothing way to go, you panic at first but then drift into peacefulness. Water would hold you in its cool grasp and fill your lungs, carrying you gently into its depths. No sound would reach your ears, just silence, and leave you to your last thoughts.

He felt like he was drowning, but not from water.

He wasn't carried gently, he wasn't left to blissful silence, the water wasn't cool.

No, He wasn't drowning, and he hopes it never ends up that way.

A dull ache made its self known behind his eyes, marking the presence of a headache. Another flash sparked, leaving unidentified patterns in its wake under his eyelids, the rumble sounded shortly after only added to the mess he was in. He felt like his insides were boiling, a cold sweat broke out drenching his clothes, the sheets, and leaving his skin feeling uncomfortable. He became desperate, trying to fight his way through the fog, the voices screaming in his head causing the ache to increase and matching the erratic rythem with his heart. All different voices, only small fragments he could make out. Memories. He knows these people, he just cant see them.

The last shout seemed to be the loudest, repeatedly in his mind. He doesn't recognise the voice, urging and going out of focus. The words are lost to him, the pounding of his heart taking over all noise. Fear took its hold, laughing cruelly at him in the dark. He didn't ask for this. He didn't want any of this. His fate was sealed the moment he stepped out of those borders, Alive. They didn't give him a choice, and now, many years later, he does these things that no one else will do. To protect the helpless, and bring justice to those who deserve it.

The fog cleared, awareness came around with startling speed, fear stopped laughing. He long ago accepted his fate. He woke up.

The cold night air hit his heated skin, but did nothing to cool him down. Rain pelted against the window, which was open only enough for his paranoid mind to be at ease. Lightning flashed again as the thunder rumbled like a hungry beast through the blackened night, lighting his room and casting it in a sickly white light color briefly before the shadows took hold of the space once again.

Shaken, Leon sat up, the light sheets pooling around his hips in a crumbled heap. He was no stranger to nightmares, they've become well acquainted in the many years that has passed by, ever since that horrid day in 1998. A day he will never, ever forget.

But this one was different.

It had no meaning, no reconisation to any past horror he has experienced. Not Raccoon, not Project Javier, not Spain or Eastern Slav, China, nothing.

It made him uneasy.

Taking a moment to calm his erratic breathing, he pulled the drenched covers off his legs to sit on the side of the bed, resting his weary and pounding head in his shaking hands. A brief glance at the digital clock on his left side table, the dull green numbers blinking at him in the dark, told him that its just past 4am.

With that now in mind, he signed, knowing that's all the sleep that he's going to get for the day ahead, and that's not new at all.

Breathing now back to what he considered 'normal', Leon stood up, heading straight for the shower in the small apartment room, turning the hot water on full causing steam to billow and fog up the mirrors and windows. After removing his clothing he stepped under the fall, the water burning his back. He hadn't done this in a while, not since after Raccoon, after Spain, but now, he felt he needed a distraction from anything but the heat pouring over his shoulders and down his back.

He stood there for several minutes, until the burning eased to a tingling sensation of nothing, and all traces of sleep and exhaustion left his limbs, leaving him feeling awake and focused, easing the tension that had gathered in his muscles. Turning off the water and exiting the shower, he reached for a towel to try himself off. Then proceeding to the old wooden draws in front of him, left of the bed, he got out a simple outfit, black jeans, a simple dark blue T-shirt, and a grey hoodie to warn off the chilly early morning air.

Walking bear footed on the wooden floor boards, he went to the open kitchen to make a cup of coffee, and some pain killers for the ache in his temples. He would get breakfast at a more reasonable hour when the shops open, seeing as he doesn't have much food at all, always coming and going, he didn't find it necessary to stock up. 'At least I still have alcohol.'

With the coffee made and warm in his hands, his head ache being dealt with, Leon moved to his desk which was placed next to a window in the far left corner of the apartment, and sat down in the comfortable chair in front of his laptop. Government issued, which made up of two login passwords, an extra at the start screen, an impressive firewall and signal connection, thanks to Hunnigan, that, and a crash system should anything go wrong. He thought it was a little over the top, something you'd only expect in action movies and plots, but in ways it was completely necessary, if a certain red spy was prowling around. Something he learnt the hard way.

By the time he was in the system he'd downed half of his coffee, he then logged into his email to check for any updates or messages.

He'd already filed his report on China, Simmons, everything that had happened 2 and a half months ago, then the clean up. He is now reporting to the new President, Robert Anderson, a man in his 40's, a man who knows very little of the horrors this world had kindled, his new boss, but nothing more, not the friend that Adam had been. Leon is still part time guarding Adam Benford's family, a request that Ashley demanded of the new President, being Adam's daughter, she didn't want Leon to be sent to a different post because of the new man, Leon's knowledge and skill sets would greatly help the new Government in making the right decisions. Guarding Ashley was the least he could do, now that Adam was gone.

After he filed his report and paper work, President Anderson gave him a 2 week leave, to recover after the near world outbreak indecent, and despite Leon's protests, he was left no room for argument.

Four days in, he's back in his apartment, third story up, right end of the corridor next to the fire exit. Call him paranoid but that has saved him more times than he can remember. The apartment door was marked 101, leading you into a big square room, no inner walls to divide the area, just space, which was occupied by a kitchen to the right with stainless steel bench tops and sleek wooden cabinets with a fridge and stove, a office area to the left with the desk separating the space from the entertainment area which contained a leather couch and a flat screen TV, surround sound system and stereo, bordered by CD and DVD stands, in the middle rested a pine wood coffee table, a simple rug beneath it. At the end of the room to the left was the bed, a chest of draws sitting at the back of the TV, and a small lamp found its way in the far left corner. To the right side of the building was the bathroom, added up to a shower and bath, a toilet in the corner, with a sink and mirror next to it whilst curtains were attached to the ceiling to pull over to act as a wall if one should use them.

Lastly, a table dotted with a few chairs around it sat in the middle of the room, windows lined the walls to the left, and a balcony sat outside of the entertainment area. All and all, it was his home. Not what one would expect from a Secret agent, but Leon wasn't one for show, didn't do his job for the money or the title. He didn't even think he was going to find the right place, a house yes but not a home. After every mission or coming back from travels, he spends most of his time at the office, or the white house. Rarely does he actually live in his apartment, but the times that he does, it feels like home, a feeling he hasn't had since before Raccoon.

A window appeared on the screen, he's personal email and a small list of contacts, Leon set his coffee down beside the laptop and clicked on the envelope that read: (2) New Messages*. The first message was titled 'Hey Scottie' by 'RedGirl99', dated 12 days ago, the name of both the email and the sender brought a small smile to his face. "Claire..." He said in amusement. That was the Redfield all over. He cringed at her nickname for him though..

_Hey Scottie, _

_I heard about what happened in China, well, what was on the news anyway. Chris is back, looking rather beat down, while he tells me a few things, but not everything. He did say you had a confrontation in Kuuchang, I'm glad you were there to help him, even if it was only for a few minutes, he hasn't been himself for a while. I also heard you now have a partner, about time, I worry with all the dangerous solo missions that you go on, especially Spain. Who knows, maybe I'll meet her one day, she sounds like she's got your back covered. _

_Things on my end are good, although the Terra Save have been very busy helping clean out the mess that has been on TV for the past few long months, but we are getting there. We have gotten a few of groups who have sided with Neo-Umbrella, but we put a stop to them before they even begin, so It looks like its going to be quiet for a few weeks. Lucky us. _

_Iv been in contact with Sherry, and she's grown up, I'm so proud of her. When we are all free, we need to go on a outing, a Raccoon city reunion, but in the way it was meant to be. Tell me what's going on, hey? I hope things with the new government go well, and that the new guy isn't an ass. Or I'll personally kick his teeth in, but you know, discreetly. _

_Well, I'v got to go. We are here If you need us, just a phone call away. I'm also going to give you Chris' number if you don't already have it, He needs someone to talk to who's been in the same shoes, ya' know? Chat soon. _

_Claire _

_xo_

_P.S. I heard what happened, with Ada, and even though I didn't trust her, I know she meant something to you.. Leon, I'm so sorry._

_-Chris: 0596 292 498_

Leon looked at the end of the email at Chris' number, and although he has met the guy, only once before the China incident he doesn't really know him too well, but understands completely about the things he has been through. The same as what Leon has been through, and yet different. The two had read each others reports as was required of their organisation's, both being top agents, any form of written documentations related to any form of Bio-Organic Weapon's, T, G, and C-virus, Los Illuminados also known as the Plaga, Uroboros, organisations known as Umbrella, Tricel, names such as Birkin, Javier, Wesker, were studied. All of this information was strictly classified to all agencies, and only their top agents who had dealings with this information first hand had access to them.

Yes, Leon has heard allot about Chris, and vice versa. Maybe getting to know the man a little better would do some good, if not just for him, but for Claire.

After a quick reply to her email, explaining that he wasn't under any way, authorised to give any information of China, the consequence of those actions would greatly diminish his future. He accepted her brothers number, letting her know that he will give him a call, and also accepting the invite to a 'Raccoon' reunion, but not sure on when though. Finishing the message with a reassuring note on her worries about him and Ada, he hit the send button.

He took a moment to sit back, his thoughts on the red spy. Ada, that name has haunted him for was feels like a life time. He didn't want to think about what happened 6 months ago, about what he had seen, about some very convincing evidence of her actions, about why she was there in the first place. The news of her death brought a familure pain to his chest, the same pain he'd felt when he thought he lost her in Racoon. The confusion and anger he felt when the Intel came of a woman who was later confirmed Ada Wong 3 years after Raccoon, but it was nothing but relief that flooded his senses when he saw her in the helicopter, alive, in China after her apparent second death. He should think by now he shouldn't be surprised.

Downing the rest of his coffee, he lent forward to read the last message, untitled, but the sender read: Ingrid.

Hunnigan. Then it was back to business.

_Leon,_

_We have possible Intel on a Terrorist group following up on Neo-Umbrella, Their intentions and name are unidentified, murders are starting to dot over the country here in America, murders all bearing the same symbol in white. The victims are Scientist Wendy H Nelson, who works in the countries top chemical bio lab of the CRS (Chemical Research Science) department, Benjamin Dee, who worked for the E'World company of Network, a Network filing all data of every agentcie and company globally, and another man named Steve Jension, who's career and life was devoted to the production of health care and donations to hospitals. Non of these victims have had any encounter with one another, the only link is the symbol found drawn in chalk at each crime scene. _

_One witness has come forward, a friend of Benjamin Dee, reporting that Mr Dee had a regular visitor every 4th day of a new month, always a man described to us wearing a long brown trench coat, said to be in his mid-thirties, 6 foot tall, and short black hair. Just last week on the 4th, the witness recalled hearing an argument, but was unable to give us words, and told us that for the next 5 days, Mr Dee had closed himself off, abandoning his family to live in a hotel room, and seemed to be extremely uneasy and paranoid, so much that he never left the building and never used any means of contact to the outside world. Benjamin Dee was reported missing 2 days ago, the room he stayed in was wrecked, evidence of a struggle took place, blood which was confirmed to belong to Benjamin, and the same white symbol marked in chalk on the door were found. _

_Yesterday, the E'World company had a major melt down. Many Data and files went missing, files that were linked to government agencies, including our own, and after some digging, we uncovered the names and classes of these files. One file dated back in 1998, the Raccoon City Incident, Classified lvl 6. One file of a Op in 2002, Operation RiverWood, lvl 1. Files of locations were erased, these files were un-retrievable. Reports were also missing, names. But one more file was missing. Yours. Your report's, missions, agent status, including the recent report you filed on China. Classified lvl 6. _

_We are in the dark of how exactly these unidentified people managed to hack into our system and erase data. It has caused an up roar in the office and Government, every computer specialist is working on the case, and units have been placed out in the field for any evidence and leads of the people responsible. While yet, the request of publishing the suspect on TV have been forbidden, this case it to remain classified from the public, for the data that was lost cannot be leaked out. _

_I know what your thinking, and you are reported to come back to the office in 3 days. You are still on recovery leave, but your time has been shortened, we need everyone available on this case, should the information reach the public, the true nature of Racoon or China, and who was behind it will cause chaos and riots, against the Government. _

_I have attached the files and information of each victim to this email, including the reports from local athoraties and witnesses from each crime scene. I will be sending you any new updates that we get following the next few days. When you get back, the President has summoned you to a meeting, where contacts from each agentcie will be present, teams from the BSAA will also be required, as information also went missing in there system as well. We need to work together quickly if we are to uncover the assaultents motives and lost information, information that must stay out of the wrong hands, unless we want another Bio-attack. The meeting will take place at the white house at 7am on the 15th._

_Keep you mobile turned on, I'll keep in touch._

_Hunnigan._

Leon sat there, alarm creeping into his nerves at the email that was dated 11 hours ago.

How, who and why ran through his head. Information like Racoon City in the wrong hands can be desasterous, Simmon's proved that with his attack that killed President Graham and over 70,000 people in Tall Oaks. But Operation RiverWood? Location files? And all of his files? Why would someone need information on him and his past missions? This made him extremely edgy. Raccoon was one thing, but that _and_ information on Spain, and Eastern Slav, was a stack load of very lethal information that can do some sever damage that cannot be undone. He didn't want to think about the consequences if this information gets out. There would be global chaos.

Leon clicked on the attached files to the email, bringing up every report and document to the attack on E'World, files with the victims and there information, including crime scene photos, exact times of the murders and locations, lists of family and contacts, and witness reports with their identity's.

It was now 4:45 in the morning, Monday, and he had a lot of work to do.


	2. Chapter 2

_**= Alright, first things first. I want 200,000 up front, another 200 when this is over- nah, juck kidding guys. What I will add is that I'm new to fanfiction, not reading it, but posting it. So I appoligise for any posted error or update, I'm learning. I also appoligise for any odd spelling mistakes. This story is a 'think and go' thing, I just sat infront of my old computer and started typing, so some information might be wrong; because for some weird reason I got 'Adam Benford' mixed with 'Adam Graham' in the first chapter... Eesh. Reviews are very much welcome, chapters will be posted. Capcom own these charactors, except for my made up ones which should be easy to identify.**_

_**So love it, hate it, review it, question it, ignor it. I'm ArtElf and I'm a little on the crazy side. =**_

**CHAPTER 2:**

_Watch Dogs_

Blending back into society is never an easy task, for any agent, but for those like Leon, who have seen the things he's seen, know the things that he knows, that task of becoming a 'cervilian' again was next to impossible. You see all these people around you, smiling, meeting with friends, going out with loved ones, walking hand in hand with matching gold bands on there fingers. A life that one in his position could never have. One of the many prices he has paid to the Government.

Every face you see becomes a possible threat, you read them, predict their motives, map out who they are by the way they carry them selves and what they wear. Sounds around you are highlighted, piecing together what is normal, and what isn't, you learn to focus on one conversation and block out the rest. You enter a room and immediately calculate entries and exits, how many people are in the room, things that you could use to your advantage and things you keep away from. Your mind is drilled into all this at any Government force job, but his mind has now been over run by it, a progress that had been running since he joined the RPD. His first day on the job as a rookie police officer. Same day of the outbreak. He got one hell of a welcome party.

Doing normal things, things that normal people do, is a mission in itself, and personally, Leon hated shopping.

Carrying a basket full of food and walking down the ile's of various products seem extremely out of ordinary for him, trying to make decisions on what product to buy, because there is too many of the same damn thing, too many options, and Leon never had options before. It should be comforting, but he didn't find it any.

Walking around in this small grocery store, having spent half an hour trying to find the items he needed and getting lost more than once, he decided what he has will have to do and that it was time to wrap it up.

He headed over to the single register in the store to pay for his items, where a young lady worked. He read her like a book. Age 20-25, reasonably fit, but isn't a workout junkie, straight brown hair tied up in a messy bun, no make-up probably studies music, a piano by the way she is drumming her fingers rythemly against the desk in a bored fashion. Hasn't had much sleep by the bags under her eyes, suggesting that even when she's not working for money she is knee deep in study. The glasses she wears give her a smart look, must be new, by the way she is continuesly shifting them on her head, and her name tag read Matilda.

He smiled politely when she spotted him, watching as she adjusted her glasses yet again, yeah, defiantly new.

"You look like you need something to do, piano perhaps." He said knowingly, placing the basket on the counter and started unpacking.

She looked up at him for a moment, startled, before smiling, and started to scan the items, "What gave me away?"

"Your fingers."

"Huh." Matilda nodded, caught. "I guess I'm not as discrete as I though I was." She stole a short moment to study the man in front of her. Black jeans, nicely fitted. A dark blue buttoned shirt, the first 2 buttons undone and showing some skin. A black leather jacket unzipped rested on broad shoulders, with a dark grey hoodie underneath. Dirty blond hair that framed a shaped face, and soft blue eyes that seemed to see right into her. Well, not bad for her first customer. Not bad at all.

"If it makes you feel better, no one is. I'v been told I'm rather terrible at it." Leon said to her, laughing lightly, remembering Helena had immediately picked up on his feelings for Ada. He smiled at her, not missing the brief admiring glance she'd given him.

Matilda laughed too, forcing her eyes to her work, a little embarrest at being caught staring.

He was about to ask her why she was the only worker visible in the store, and that it could be dangerous for her to be alone, when the TV at the top right of the wall caught his attention, the volume just loud enough for him to make out the words of channel 9's breaking news.

_~Reports are coming in of the next victim's name was Keith Hendrics, who was found dead in his home at 7:30am this morning, neighbours say they did not hear any disterbence or see anyone enter or exit Mr Hendrics' home, and that it came as a shock to the people living in the area. The murder is now marked as part of the 'White Wolf' case when authorities found a symbol matching the same to the crime scenes of victims Wendy H Nelson, Benjamin Dee and Steve Jension. ~_

Matilda had just finished scanning the items, bringing up the total at $46.95, when she noticed her customer had paused and was watching the TV with great interest and alarm. "Sir..?" She asked.

_~Do not yet know who is responsible for these killings, the family's are demanding answers from the police. We- hold on, we are just receiving word that... the CIA at the scene have found a file on Mr Hendrics' computer which was running at the time of the murder, a file that is dated back in 2004 and titled.. the Kennedy Report~_

She watched him tense up, the muscles in his jaw tightening, and she wasn't sure what to do, looking at him then at the TV, wondering why he was so alarmed by it.

The tension was momently broken by the ringing of a cell, and she watched as he visibly forced himself to answer it, but keeping his attention fixed on the screen.

Leon answered the phone, already knowing who it would be without even glancing at the caller ID. "Hunnigan, how the hell did this get out? I thought you said the case was classified from the public, what the hell are the CIA doing passing there findings to the reporters?" To say he was pissed would be a mild understatement. Murders were one thing, you cant stop that from reaching the public, no matter how hard you tried, but the crime scene details, evidence, and especially the files on the computer should have been bagged and taken immediately to the office and away from the area where it cant fall into anyone's hands.

_"We have people working on that right now, the CIA were not given the go on releasing any information. Luckely, the file they found is locked, whoever sent the file to that computer didn't want to make it easy for anyone to view its contence."_

Leon signed, that was something of a relief. "So you don't think the victim was part of the group who stole the information?"

_"While some of our people believe Mr Hendrics might have been involved in the theft of E'Word data, others are arguing against it in relation to the victim, why have him killed?"_

He paused for a moment, thinking, before what felt like a flare sparked in his mind. "Because its not the victim, its the information. This isn't related to the other three murders, this is a warning, their making a point of how easily they can screw us over."

_"I agree, if they wanted to cause global chaos, they could have released the information days ago. They know we are watching, they know you are watching. This is a message."_

"But the question is, what do they want?" They didn't have any leads, no back tracks, no bread crumbs. All they have is a wake of dead cervilians and information now being controlled by these mysterious group of people. Things are not looking good.

Matilda stood there, utterly confused, only hearing his side of the conversation and having a gut feeling that she shouldn't be hearing any of it at all. "Uh... Sir?" She asked somewhat tentatively, not wanting to intrude on what seems a serious phone call.

Leon looked up at the voice, coming back to the present, and finding a very nervous register girl standing there, looking a little out of place. Right. "Hunnigan, I'm going to need you to call you back." This was not the place for this kind of discussion, and he was not going to give her an explanation as to why, no, he was food shopping damn it.

_"I understand, cant have you shop lifting at a grocery store, I'll keep you updated."_

_Shit_, he thought, looking up at a servalence camera in the ceiling. Should've known better.

Ending the call and placing his cell away in his pocket, he gave a apologetic smile to Matilda. Reaching inside his jacket and taking his wallet out. "Sorry, how much to I owe you?"

Matilda froze momentarily when she caught a glimpse of a gun concealed under his jacket as he reached for his wallet, but relaxed at his question, re-reading the numbers out, and accepting the cash. Opening the draw to gather his change, she recalled the past few minutes in her head, putting two and two together. "Work, huh?" She asked, handing out his change.

"Yeah."

She nodded, placing the recite in the bags, "So your some sort of Government agent?" Looking at him in the eyes, noticing his pause.

He looked back at her, hiding the brief thought of shock, but then not being surprised. She had, after all, heard part of his phone call, but that alone should not have said much about who he works for. Deciding to play this like the beginning, he smirked. "What gave me away?"

She laughed at his choice of words, knowing the table had been turned, and feeling more relaxed. Matilda nodded at the left side of his jacket, "I saw your side-arm when you reached for your wallet, then I just put together the last few minutes like a jigsaw." She said, feeling proud, and not afraid to show it.

"Well.." He said, impressed. "Sorry to startle you, I guess I'm not as discrete as I though I was."

She broke out in a small fit of giggles, something she wouldn't normally do, but with that smile on his face, and being too early in the morning in her opinion, the situation called for it.

Leon laughed with her, glad that he made her morning on a Monday, because normal people like her deserved it, and not what he wakes up to every morning.

He took his purchase off the counter, glancing at the TV to see the news had moved on to a morning show, then looking back at Matilda. "I should get going" Checking his watch, nearly eight o'clock.

She smiled, "Yeah, It will start getting a little busy soon. Have a good day."

"Don't work too hard." He said with a wink, before waving his thanks and exiting the store.

His breath fogged when he left the store, walking across the car park where his grey Jeep was stationed, he pulled his jacket a little more securely around himself to warn off the freezing morning air, not that he minded winter, but he cant have someone else seeing the weapon under his jacket, it was just a slip up the first time, but he wasn't going to make that mistake again, unless he wanted to attract curious attention or startle someone to call the police. Not that they could do much, just a wave of his badge and licence to carry a gun and they will be on there way. He just doesn't have the patience to talk it out with them. The weapon was a comforting weight under his arm, one that he never left the house without. It was the same one he carried back in Raccoon, and although it was old, it was well cared for, one that never lets him down. Its presence was a reminder of why he is here today. He also carried his survival knife which was tucked up on his left shoulder, hidden well under the jacket, and another small blade that even his government doesn't know exists, which was strapped to his right for-arm up the sleeve of his jacket, the silver shealthed in fine but strong leather, and the handle was nothing more than an extension of the blade, blunt with a small groove in one side for grip.

A small 'beep beep' sounded as he unlocked his car, opening the passenger door to place the bags in, before closing it and walking around to the drivers side. A few people were around now, being about their business in the morning. There was an elderly lady walking her beagle, she looked like a Eskimo by the way she was rugged up, a man in a checked jumper getting the paper with a steaming cup in his hands, a woman entering the store he just left, and another figure was standing across the street, wearing a long coat-

... A trench coat to be exact, brown.

Leon's hand froze on the handle of his car door which he was reaching to open, eyes fixed on the figure standing a few meters away, who's eyes were staring right back at him.

_~One witness has come forward, a friend of Benjamin Dee, reporting that Mr Dee had a regular visitor every 4th day of a new month, always a man described to us wearing a long brown trench coat, said to be in his mid-thirties, 6 foot tall, and short black hair. _

Leon knew immanently who he was, and the uncomfortable tingeing sensation on the back of his neck made him realise that the man knew who he was too. It was a moment of wolf and wolf, both hunters making eye contact, recognising each other as threats, as targets, but a thought crossed his mind. Who's the hunted?

The man stared a moment longer, a look that seemed to be an invitation, before turning on his heel and strolling casually down the side walk.

Leon broke out of his trance, locking his car again before walking across the street, taking position a few moments behind, following the man, but not making any sudden movements that would rouse suspicion from the people who were in the area.

Many thoughts crossed his mind as he followed the man, thoughts as to why; why would he be in the open, sticking his identity in line of sight to someone he knows has the authority to take him into custody immediately? What; what is he doing here just an hour after another murder he is suspected of doing? And how; how did he know Leon was here? That last question disturbed him the most, stealing data from E'World does not give one a GPS tracking to when people go shopping and where. He realised there is more to this case than just the threat of releasing data globally, but if these people can track his movements and locations, then something else is seriously wrong, from _inside_ the Government, and that was a scary possibility.

Leon watched the man carefully, eyes taking in every movement and detail, an edgy feeling in his mind told him not to follow, and usually he would listen to that inner voice, because that patronising tone is always right, and he'd paid for it in the past. But time called for it, after all, what do you do on your time off and you catch sight of a suspect who has information about everything you've done. Curiosity.

The man knew he was being followed, his steps visibly calculated for the agent on his trail, all for show, and after a few blocks of mindless walking, he cut into an ally way between two resterants.

As the man disappeared into the ally, Leon followed suit after a brief glance around him to see if anyone was watching, and for anything out of the ordinary. After seeing no one around, he continued, turning the corner just as his target glanced over his shoulder at him before going right behind the building into another ally. Leon got the feeling he was being toyed with, because by the time he got to the end of the building, his target was no where in sight. The sneaky bastard. He walked quickly to the end of the next ally, glancing left and right, finding no figure there, his hand was itching to the survivor knife hidden under his jacket. That annoying tone in his head was back and telling him to fucking _move_, and get out. He did exactly that, retracing his steps. He hated cat and mouse games.

Leon walked quickly, keeping all focus on his surroundings, hands by his sides and ready should he need to take fast action, his training expecting an attack, because a shady guy leading someone away from prying eyes just screamed danger, and he mentally kicked himself for falling for it. Nothing is as it seems.

Walking back out onto the side walk and into the open, still alert, he realised just how far he'd wandered tracking the man. He was 5 blocks away from where he parked his car, far enough should something go wrong and leaving him with no cover or fast escape route.

Covering the distance he'd wandered, he could feel eyes burning into his back as he got to his car, unlocking it again and quickly sitting in the drivers seat, starting the engine. There were allot more people around now that the morning was coming along, cars roamed the streets which were only getting busier now that rush hour was here, everyone trying to get to work at the same time. He was thankful for that, who ever was setting him up cant pull of any stunts with too many witness around. If they dare, he just hoped that what ever they want they wont get through exposing them selves to the public in a rash move to startle him.

Pulling out of the parking lot, eyes darting around the area, he knew now that he's going to have to be extra careful, things have just taken a turn, and not in his favour.

~{{Page Break}}~

After getting back to his apartment, a 15 minute drive of paranoia and rush hour traffic, getting home making sure all doors and windows were now shut and locked, food put away, and sending an email to Hunnigan explaining his encounter on the street, adding a possible thought of a threat from inside the government, he took a long moment to think about his day so far. His conclusion; It was shit.

It was now 5pm, still freezing outside while the afternoon sun rained down on the city casting it in a orange glow, but did nothing to warm in its wake. He was tired, confused, and stressed as hell. Walking over to his sound system, he turned it on, 'Who We Are' by 'RED' soon came through the speakers, he turned the volume up a little, but kept it at a reasonable level so that damned voice in his head can still warn him if it hears anything other than the music that isn't normal. That action caused him to frown, if calling that side of him, himself, and 'it'.. 'I need a beer', he thought dryly, screw happy hour.

Leon walked over the the fridge and opened it, please to see at least some food in there now, he grabbed a cold beer in the door, 1 of 5 that he has in there, including the scotch and whiskey he keeps in the cabinet on the wall above one of the kitchen benches. He thinks he still might even have some Russian vodka left, not that he's an alcoholic, he hardly touches the stuff, but this situation called for it. He really needed that beer.

Un-screwing the top and taking a decent gulp, he started to make his way over to the double glass doors that lead to the small balcony when he paused, glancing over to the cubbed under the bathroom sink, before making a decision and walking over to it.

Opening the second draw, he took out a familure white box, taking note that in the mirror he looked as tense as he felt. There were already three missing when he opened the box, but remembered he'd gotten this some odd months ago, and has never really touched it. Taking out a ciggaret and a small lighter that was there as well, he closed the draw and placed the box next to the sink before proceeding to the balcony, beer in hand.

He unlocked the door and stepped outside, finding that the breeze had died down next to nothing as he walked over to the railing and leaning against it, placing the already half empty beer bottle on a small wooden table which was next to a chair. Taking a moment to stand there, enjoying the afternoon sun, he wondered when his life would go back to the way it was, unable to find any word that would really describe it. Why him? Why did he make the transfer to the RPD, why did he join the government? why did he get so attached to a spy who worked for one man, a man who did so much wrong, why did he survive yet again in Tall Oaks when thousands didn't? He has a feeling that when a day comes, a day that he finally finds out why this happens to him, will be the same day that its too late.

"You looked troubled, son."

The voice somewhat startled him back to the present, looking left, he found that he wasn't alone in the afternoon light. He met the weary face of his neighbour, a man in his late 60's, Mr Ben Smith. Used to be in the US Navy, but retired about 7 years ago due to surgery on a knee. He's a rather chatty fellow, and since Leon moved in, Ben had made it known that he'd start calling Leon 'son' because of the respect he had for the young man when he put a stop to an attempted burglary in Ben's home, which Ben then found out he's with the Government. The old man wasn't a fool, he know's that Leon is high up in his job, and thinks he's narrowed it down to Secret Service, given some of the injuries that Leon comes home with after days or weeks of being away. At one stage as Ben was leaving the building to go do some shopping, found the young man struggling up the stairs due to the elevators being out of order that week, and told him to 'shut up' when Leon tried to denie his help, saying 'Your not the only stubborn person in the building, son.'

Forcing a smile, Leon looked over at him. "Afternoon, Mr Smith."

The man shook his head it him, pointing an accusing fingure, "Now lad, how many times have I told you to call me Ben?"

Now smiling widely, Leon grabbed his beer, taking a sip. They'd had this conversation many times before. "About as many times I'v asked you to call me Leon."

Ben smiled back at him, putting the news paper down that he'd been reading. "Not a chance of that, son."

Chuckelling, Leon took the ciggaret he was still holding then placed it to his lips and started flicking at the lighter in his hand, hoping that it still worked, bringing up his right hand to warn off the light breeze from the small flame that finally sparked and danced. With that small task accomplished, he took in a breath, feeling the warmth in his lungs, he sighed, resting his arms of the railing, finally feeling a little more relaxed.

"Smoking's a filthy habit, lad, you don't want to start with that." A voice cut through.

Keeping his eyes on the park across the street, surrounded by tall buildings, Leon smiled. "Worry not, Ben. Its not a habit."

Ben looked at him from where he sat, accepting Leon's answer when he called him by his first name, and hearing the truth in his words.

"Is our boy smoking, Ben?" Asked a wry yet pleasant voice from behind him.

Leon glanced over to Ben's balcony, and arched a brow when Ms Smith walked out, wearing a daisy yellow apron.

Angela Smith, a perky and happy lady in her mid 60's, always concerned with his well being. She also knows about Leon's job, and despite her pride for people such as him who work in that area, she's always giving him advice to take something else and more safe. Saying that the desk job will be the way to go if he didn't want to leave his line of work, something that Leon can never see happening. Well, not from behind a desk anyway. Angela is a retired nurse, and now spends her time cooking for a bakery down the road. Something he'd found out when she turned up at his apartment door with a basket of freshly baked choc-chip cookies, her way of saying thanks when he fought the burguler in their home. He'd accepted the basket, knowing that if he didn't she'd be upset. Since then, after coming back from missions, he'd find her at his apartment again with something else, something that always made him feel better, like she knew it would.

"Drinking too." Ben said, pointing over to the near empty bottle sitting on the table. Which he noted that Leon tryed to move it out of sight of Ms Smith, with no such luck.

Ben's comment caused Leon to mentally cringe. He was in for a lecture.

Ms Smith looked closely at Leon, seeing the weariness and slight tension that her husband didn't see. "Oh give the lad a break, Ben, cant you see he is distressed?" She scolded her husband. Looking concerned, she asked in a motherly tone. "What's wrong, sweetie?"

Well, that put Leon at ease, maybe he wont get told off. He was surprised that she could read him so easy, but then again, she always had. Ms Smith is a wise woman. He was about to reply, telling her that he was fine, something he was almost certain she wouldn't believe, when another voice from below the Smiths apartment stopped his excuse in its tracks.

"Who's drinking?"

"Our boy here, Leon." Ben called down, earning a disapproving glare from Ms Smith.

"Leon?"

Sighing, Leon leant slightly over the left side of the balcony so that the teenage girl can see him. "Hey Lisa."

Lisa, a girl of 19 years of age, long curly light brown hair, and who is studying to become a vet, lived in the apartment on the second floor. She also has a little crush on him, for lack of a better word.

She looked up at him, surprised and happy at the same time. "When did you get back? You were gone for a while." Always curious.

Leave it up to her to know the exact days he was gone. Leon rubbed at his temples, she probably knew exactly when he got back too, he didn't mind her, but he was tired, maybe an early night for him tonight. He was just going to say 'a few days ago' when another voice above him spoke. He looked up in utter confusion, momentarily displaying a 'what the fuck?' face as some would call it these days, because seriously, was the whole building in on this conversation?

"Who's back?" Said the voice.

Lisa called up, "Leon!" her voice rang so the person on the 4th floor can hear her.

There was a short pause, before a head leant over the balcony above Leon, "Hey! Leon, my man!"

Leon waved up at the man he would refer to a 'crazy fool', "How's it goin' Jim?"

Jim's face broke out in a big grin, making him look exactly like a crazy fool leaning over the railing, hair sticking out in odd angles. "Not bad, not bad! Just got into the football team man!"

Jim had spent the better part of year trying to get into a position in football league, he's all for the show and looks. Well, it looks like his efforts have finally paid off.

"Proud of you, Jim." Was all Leon said as he raised his beer in mock toast, downing the last of it in one swing.

"What's going on out here?" Came an annoyed voice from the right of Leon. Ah, Mr Baker, a man that no one seemed to get along with in the building. He's a manager at the city's top bank. Leon met the man when he moved in, didn't even give Leon his name who Leon had to find out through Jim, the only words Baker spoke were warnings of no party shit or fights, no loud music, the usual. Leon knew immediately that he didn't like the man, and avoids any confrontation necessary.

Jim immediately retorted, "Just havein' a friendly chat, Baker, somethin' you should learn to do sometime before you get too old."

Leon grimaced, damn it Jim, never learns to shut his mouth. "Sorry for the noise, Mr Baker, I'll be heading inside now anyway." Leon said before Baker could open his mouth. Leon put out the last of his smoke, grabbing his empty beer bottle and turning to say bye to the Smiths. Smiling at them.

"You take care, honey. Don't let work get to you." Ms Smith said, still looking concerned but smiling back at him anyway.

Always Ms Smith, "I'll try, goodnight Ms Smith, Ben." Leon nodded at them, seeing Ben's approving look at his name.

"Night' son." The man replied, before him and his wife went inside.

Leon smiled as he too left the balcony, closing the door and locking it, hearing the voices of Jim and Baker having another dissagrement. 'Some things never change', he thought with amusement, but then sobered up when he actually really thought about that, and even though it can be a good thing, in his life, that was a different story. In his life, things never changed, and when they did, it was for the worst.

It was now getting on to 6pm, the setting sun darkening the sky, whilst the many lights of buildings in the distance, street lights and the still steady flow of late afternoon traffic lit up like stars, creating a look you would expect on a Christmas night, but to him, not the comfort. After seeing what the world in capable of, after everything that's happened because of power and greed, one man standing against millions, the feeling of comfort only comes on rare occasions. Only a feeling he knows how to give, but not receive. He hardly feels human anymore.

One day, it will all be over, and only then will he feel comfort.

After having a meal on his table, alone, cleaning up, checking the locked windows and doors, closing the curtains. He decided it was time to call it a night. Coming tomorrow, he's going to need all the sleep he can get.

~{{Page Break}}~

It was dark when he opened his eyes, cold and dark. He lay there, feeling every bit of tired he'd felt before he went to bed, and he mentally groaned, cursing his luck for yet another sleepless night. As he lay there, he briefly wondered why his apartment was chilly, it had been at a reasonable temperature before. He thought that maybe he was cold because he'd taken his shirt off before sleeping, not wanting to give his body any reason to warm and fuelling another nightmare, remembering the previous morning when he'd woken up boiling. His tired and weary mind tried putting together the puzzle, and it took him a moment to realise something strange... he had no nightmares.

Nothing, he'd slept soundly, not a single thought bothered him as he slept. That was a first in many months. Maybe he was just that tired, and his mind was too run out for thoughts, but then why was he-

He opened his eyes again, not being aware that he'd closed them. His mind now working on overload. If a nightmare didn't wake him, then what the hell did? Something had triggered his inner alarm bells whilst he was sleeping.

He woken up and the first feeling was the cold...

He'd locked the windows and doors after he came inside from the balcony, and not making any sudden moves, he carefully pushed himself up on his elbows, looking to the right and past the top of his TV. A window was open, the curtains moving gently by the breeze that made its way in, the numerous traffic and building lights shining through the small space, but not enough to light up the room much. his apartment was cloaked in darkness. A small noise came from the direction to his left.

Someone was in his apartment.

Leon kept still, mind working like clock work. There was a Beretta in his bed side table, but opening the draw was not an option, the sound of the weapon should he use it would attract attention and cause panic to run in the building, and he had no way of knowing what his attacker would be armed with. His last option was the survivor knife he kept under his pillow, works better for close encounters.

Very carefully sitting up and pulling the covers off his legs, he reached under his pillow, feeling the familure hilt of the knife in his grasp. Eyes and ears fixed on everything around him, he stood up, unsheathing the blade as quietly as possible and listening for any sound that would give away his unwanted guest's position.

There was a small clatter to his left, about 10 meters in front of him, and he knew his apartment like the back of his hand. His guest was in the kitchen.

Walking slowly, knife in front of him, he silently thanked who ever placed these wooded floor boards down, he's feet didn't make a sound.

Eyes adjusting to the dark, he could just make out a shape of a figure in the room, standing in front of the kitchen counter top, his back turned by the simple knowlagde that if he was facing Leon, he'd probably see him too.

His mind ran over all the possibilities of someone breaking into his home, the apartment was locked up pretty good, the locks were all different and next to impossible to pick at, glass was criss-crossed with small yet strong bars, so that if an intruder managed to break the glass, they'd then have to get through another layer. The front door was solid wood, you wont be able to kick that in with out some power, and the glass doors leading out to the balcony were bullet proof. Considering the window was open from the outside, with no sign of force entry, you must seriously know what your doing.

The image of the shady man he saw across the street today came to mind, and with everything that had happened with the past few days, that possibility seem the most likely.

Mentally smirking as Leon came right up behind the man, he'd guessed by his height and shoulders, Leon made his move, as quick as lightning, he grabbed the man's right arm and twisted it behind his back, bringing his left arm that had a firm grip of the blade and brought that around to the man's throat, pressing in sharply as he kicked the man's feet apart in a fashion that should his victim try to throw him, he'd only succeed in loosing balance.

So focused on the task at hand and the adrenalin running through his veins, Leon missed the startled mumble of "What the-!?"

"Who the hell are you?" Leon growled into his captives ear, cutting of anything the person might have said.

The man stopped struggling, seeming to realise who held him, and raised his only free hand where the agent can see it.

"Answer me!" Nudging the blade in warning, and twisting the man's arm further. Leon was in no mood for games.

"Hey, hey! Easy! Its me!"

Wait... Leon knows that voice, he hesitated if only briefly, before a memory surfaced and caused him to blink a few times.

"...Jake?"


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3:**

_Leon Scott Kennedy_

"Hey hero." Jake said as much as he could in that cocky tone he's rather fond of, waving his unrestrained hand in greeting.

The last time Leon had seen Jake was a few weeks ago when he arrived in China, and they hadn't gotten of on an easy foot. It was only when Sherry stepped in that they were stopped short of whatever fight that might have taken place, and after realising they both had somewhat of the same goals, which involved protecting Sherry and bringing a stop the the man responsible for the chaos, they started working together.

"What the hell?" Was all Leon managed to get out, the room was still dark, but he could see the hand that was free from his grasp waving at him.

"What the hell?" Jake asked incredulously at Leon's words, before pointing at the knife still at his throat in annoyance. "What the hell!"

Realising that he still held Jake in his death grip, Leon released him, then walked over to his left to turn on the kitchen lights, flooding the area in its brightness and now revealing both men who were in the room to one another.

Jake had changed since last he saw him, he had a different aura about him, one that still spoke danger of course, but one that also spoke a goodness, a will to do good in the world, a will to fight and bring hope to the helpless, to those who cant fight for themselves, to those who don't know how. He wore a thick grey coat that went to just below the hips, the collar turned up around his neck and black fingerless gloves. A tight fitting black T-shirt underneath, dark blue and somewhat faded jeans with a brown belt and black leather combat boots laced up.

He looked at the agent across the room in what was probably annoyance, straightening his coat and flexing his obviously sore arm, he expected a few things from the hero he'd heard so much about from Sherry, but being held at knife point as a greeting wasn't part of his list. Then again, he did 'break' into his home unannounced... Maybe he deserved it.

Leon looked at him in confusion, this is not what he was expecting in the middle of the night. "What are you doing here?"

"Yeah, nice to see you too, hero." Was all Jake said to him before turning around and grabbing something off the kitchen counter.

Leon watched his back, wondering what the ex-mercenary was doing. "How do you know where I live? And the window-"

"I did some digging, but that's my secret." Jake said, interrupting the agents question. "Oh yeah, and the window- wasn't easy, if that will make you feel any better." Turning around, with one of Leon's beers in hand, he looked at the older man, and arched a brow, smirking. "Expecting someone else?"

Leon glared at him, before looking down and realised he wasn't wearing a shirt, only dark grey pants. His hand still held the knife, though a little more at ease.

"You still didn't answer my question." Leon said as he turned around and headed over to his bedroom, picking up and sheathing his knife then proceeding to where his draws were, pulling out a black T-shirt and slipping it on over his shoulders.

"I was in the neighbourhood " Jake replied dismissing any other possible reason for his appearance His eyes watched Leon from where he stood, catching sight of a scar on the agents back, left shoulder. The scaring tissue of what his mind identified as a bullet would, one that was left untreated for a while. Including the gash on his right upper-arm. 'So the hero has battle scars.' He thought, drinking some of the beer in his hand.

Leon turned to look at Jake, seeing the man in his apartment and drinking his beer. So that's why he was in the kitchen... "I wasn't expecting you, for starters." He said, walking over to the kitchen and opening the fridge, grabbing a beer himself. Looks like he wont be getting much sleep now after all. "Lets just say some weird shit has happened lately " Leaning against the counter in front of Jake, he signed. He was so tired.

Jake looked at him, standing awkwardly in Leon's apartment 'The agent looks like shit', he thought. It was obvious to the ex-mercenary that the hero hadn't slept in a few days. Although life for Jake has changed since China, since meeting Sherry, he still held onto his previous life's lessons and skills. As a mercenary he was trained not to care for other's well being, a solo man, always worked alone. Trained to kill without mercy, to take what doesn't belong, to rebel against the law. The only thing he was taught to take in account about was the money.

But someone changed all that.

He was now standing in an Agents home, beer in hand, looking at the other man who was clearly edgy and tense, and a strange uncalled for feeling of wondering, no, wanting to know; why?

He was concerned. Now isn't that a strange word these days? He wasn't too sure if he wanted to feel that way for someone he hardly knew. He wasn't sure why he is even here in the first place. 'Why did she put me up to this?' He thought bitterly Then thinking, 'Why did I even agree to it?'. Of course. He'd accepted because of that same feeling he'd felt for her. Concern. Damn it.

"So..." Jake started, looking at the agent across from him, then shrugging his shoulders in a bored fashion. "I hear you've got yourself a little problem."

Leon looked at him, though darkly, curious. "Apart form the one currently standing in my home, drinking my beer."

"You really didn't know I was coming?" Jake asked, taking a drink.

"No. Should I have?"

There was silence for a moment, awkward, painful, annoying silence. Jake hated it.

"She didn't tell you?" Ok, this was getting really annoying, really, Jake made a mental note to always read the fine print before signing up for anything in the future.

Leon looked just as annoyed as he did. "Who didn't tell me what?"

Jake signed, bringing up a hand to rub at his head. "Damn it, super girl." He muttered. About three days ago he got a call from her, something he wasn't expecting so soon after the whole saving the world thing. To say he was pleasantly surprised was one thing, but when the reason to her calling came through, he was a little shocked. After all, why would he do something like that?

"Super girl?" Leon asked as he watched the younger man, and for some reason, he had a feeling he knew as to who Jake was referring too.

"Sherry was suppose to call you, well, that's what she told me anyway." Jake shrugged starting to think that maybe his presence wasn't needed. "Dude, you need to call her." He didn't want to stay any longer than necessary. No, wait, he was going to finish this beer and then go.

"I don't have her details." Leon looked at the man, seeing the confusion at his statement.

"What?" Jake paused mid drink, looking over at the agent in question. "But you and Sherry go way back, surly you must have-"

"Its not that simple." Leon cut him of, walking around him to go sit at the table in the middle of the room.

"Not that simple?" Jake was getting pissed.

With his back to the man, standing next to the table, just short of sitting down, Leon replied, "I haven't had contact with Sherry since Raccoon."

For some reason, that made Jake angry. "So you haven't spoken to her in over ten years?" When his angry tone didn't get a response from the agent, Jake walked over and grabbed his shoulder before the man could sit down, and turned him around to glare at him, but the face that stared back at him was blank. "Look," Jake spat, "The time I spent with Sherry trying to save the world, things between us weren't just black and white, but she told me things, things that wouldn't have been easy. She told me about Raccoon, that her parents created the virus she was infected with, and that you saved her, you made it your duty to get her the vaccine and to get her out of there. Even though you didn't have to. She has since then looked up to you, she made it her duty to join the government, her duty to protect and find justice. She made it her duty to make you proud." Jake's voice was rising as he stared into the blue eyes of the other man. "And the moment she was out of your grasp you walked away, leaving her to be a human guini pig for years! What kind of hero does that?!"

At Jake's words, Leon pushed him away, angry at the ex-mercenary, but more angry at himself. The meaning behind Jake's words struck hard, and it made feel like guilt was swallowing him whole, he understood every bit of Jake's anger. He turned away from the younger man, feeling the burning in his back as the eyes followed him, he pulled out a chair and sat down in the now tense quiet room, bringing the cold beer to his head as years worth of memory's and thoughts ran through his mind in jumbled heaps.

Jake looked at him, waiting, for what he didn't know. He just mentally counted down the seconds of his patience which he was never really good at. The room was silent for a while, so silent that so much as a single drop of water on the floor could have sounded and echoed, but doing nothing the break the tension that had gathered. After a long and yet short moment, Jake was about to down his beer and leave, when a voice stopped him.

"We had finally gotten out, the nightmare that was Raccoon, it was over. Well, that's what we thought. Sherry was scared, she didn't know what was going to happen after. Neither did I, but I told her that I would be there for her, that I will help her in anyway I could." Leon's voice was soft, yet steady and strong. Taking his time with the memory, a memory he hasn't told anyone, that no one other than himself and the government know. "We radioed in for a rescue, and a short time later we were picked up by a helicopter by the government. When we landed, we were escorted into a building, then were separated, Sherry was taken away from me, I tried to get to her but they wouldn't let me."

Jake stood there for a moment, before walking over and taking a seat across of Leon. He didn't speak, just sat there waiting. He could tell this was going to be a long conversation.

Leon continued, staring into space. "Next thing I know, I'm in an empty interrogation room, a two way mirror was in front of me, and a voice was talking through the speakers, wanting to know everything about what happened in Raccoon. From the time I entered the town to the time I left, every person I met, everything that was discovered about the underground Labs, the Virus, Doctor Birkin, every small detail. At first I didn't answer any, I wanted to know where Sherry was, I wanted to see her, to know that she was safe. I was tired, injured, and the last thing I wanted to do after that ordeal, was talk about it." He pause, taking another short moment to think, the beer in his hand now sat forgotten on the table. "After a while, I told them everything, everything I knew about what happened, about Umbrella, about the virus and experiments that were in the facility, the people I'd talked to and met, and in return I wanted to know what they were going to do with Sherry."

"I'm missing the part that explains why you left Sherry alone afterwards." While Jakes anger had calmed a little, he was getting agitated. The man in front of him looked up, anger briefly flashed in the blue depths before he signed, looking down again.

"They told me she was being looked after, taken to a medical wing to go through examinations of the virus that she had been infected with. I knew what they were getting at, and despite my efforts I couldn't stop them. I'd never felt so angry, I couldn't help but think it was my fault, I thought we were being rescued, but instead it was out of one hell hole and into another. The government wanted to cover up the incident, any survivor was considered an asset with valuable information, the moment we stepped out of Raccoon City's borders, was the same moment we became targeted, and not just by the government. I was given two options. I work for them, they wanted someone with my skill set. The other option was that if I didn't work for them, that things could get very bad for me very quickly." Leon paused, looking at the man straight in the eyes who was sitting in front of him.

"I accepted their job offer on one condition. That Sherry was to be given a home, a family, and education, anything but the life of a human test subject. It was the least I could do, the best I could to to make her life more comfortable than what they had intended. So I handed my life over to the government, in exchange for Sherry's." Leon finished, looking at Jake.

Jake looked back at him, his anger was replaced by understanding. Although he still didn't understand some aspects, like what happened after, but he now knows there was far more to the Raccoon City incident than just the outbreak, but to the people who were involved. Its an un-ending trail, a trail that branches out, making its way into every corner, a virus. "Does Sherry know...?" He asked, feeling the previous tension in the air ease.

Leon shook his head, "No. She had enough worries, I didn't want to burden her with the weight of my choice."

"What about after? Did you try to contact her?" Jake asked, still wanting to know why he hadn't spoken her in all the time that had passed by.

"I never stopped trying. I tried for 3 years, but the government kept it wrapped up. I wasn't allowed any contact with her, I couldn't know where she was, how she was doing, or who her foster family were. I was being watched by the government, they were keeping tabs on me at that time. It wasn't until in the past year that I caught wind of a young agent joining the Secret Service under the name of Birkin."

That was different. Jake hadn't heard anything like that before. "Then why would the government hire you if they didnt trust you?"

Leon looked at him, then shrugged his shoulders. "To make sure I didn't step out of line. Its easier for them to keep me under their watchful eyes if I worked for them."

"And easier to ghost you should you step over, no questions asked. Huh." Jake sat back, a frown creasing his features. "Who would'a thought, I always knew the government were dirty." He said, finishing off his beer.

The silence stretched in the room, Jake was now beginning to see where Leon was coming from. If he was in the man's shoes, he probably would have done the same thing. When he first met him in China, and Sherry called his name, Jake's interest perked when he caught sight of the man he'd heard a little about, the man who survived the horror that was the worlds worst, and who was the reason why Sherry was amongst the living. At first glance, he was dissapointed, the man wasn't who he was expecting, he wasn't as tall as he would think, not as strong by appearance but after Sherry confirmed that this was the man she told Jake about, he looked back and could see the fierce will power and fight that the man held in his eyes. A survivor, one who fights for a reason not of his own.

Then came the fight against the B.O.W, and the government man surprised Jake again with how well he held things together, how he handled his very small armed supply, nothing but 2 Wing Shooters, 9mm rounds and a knife. There were marksmen who would use shotguns and grenades, good marksmen who would use machine guns or forms of assault rifles, and then there were great marksmen, these few individuals would go for the handguns and sniper rifles, even knives. Leon was one of those few men, every shot was calculated in a split second, hitting its intended mark centre. A class that Jake too was part of, but he didn't expect it coming from this government man.

It was when they were being gunned down by Simmons' men that he'd had a little more time to study the man. He thought that it was something that the agent signed up for, made it his life job to work for the government, a childhood dream. But after everything he'd just been told, he know's now that the man was a prisoner to his own reasons, like what Jake was when we worked as a mercenary. They didn't have a choice, they did it to help someone else, and now when that reason is taken from them, they are left to the job they took, with nothing to go by other than the simple face that they cant simply leave it. They are already in the deep end, with no way to break out of it.

"So you going to tell me why your here?" Leon's question brought Jake back to the now, as he looked at the agent. Fair enough question.

"Like I said before," Jake started, picking up from where they left of before the previous discussion. "I hear you've got yourself a problem. Involving lost data and the victims I'v seen on the news in the past few days."

Leon looked at him, frowning slightly. Yeah, there was the information on the news, but what's that got to do with Jake breaking into his apartment?

Jake continued, "Yeah, your a popular man, Kennedy. The report the CIA found is causing a bloody frenzy. What's in the report that's got everyone diggin'?" He asked, curious, before adding with a sly grin. "Nothing on me, is it?"

Leon laughed dryly, taking a swing of his beer. "Huh, I wish." His response caused Jake to lift a brow.

"Really?" Jake's tone drawled out.

"Really." Leon confirmed, before his tone turned serious. "Because what's really on that report, is far less pleasant than you. Its information on a mission I did personally for President Benford, a cover story was created to cloak what really happened, and if that cover is blown and the information becomes transparent, lets say it will be the start of global chaos." He signed, adding, "And that's only one report they have hold of. If they release any other information, information like Raccoon, like China, -just, pray that doesn't happen."

"Wait, hold on a second." Jake lent forward, "How many files are we talking about here?"

Leon looked at him, deep in thought, before making a decision. Strangely enough, he trusted Jake. "The DSO arn't the only ones to loose information, but the BSAA as well. Information on Umbrella, on Tricel, of mission reports and updates, including information on our own agents and upcoming operations I'm talking about everything, Jake, everything we know about Umbrella and their leftovers. Virus', locations, names, right down to the people who were involved, and their details."

Jake couldn't believe it. "How is that even possible?"

Leon shook his head, "I don't know, but I'm starting to get this feeling, that who ever we are dealing with here, have eyes and ears within the government. I'm not talking about a rookie, I'm talking about someone who would need experience, someone who's been on the job for a while, working there way up the food chain. We're dealing with one of our own."

"But the information was stolen from E'World, so what makes you believe its from inside the government?" After what Leon told Jake about what the government did to him and Sherry after Raccoon, the thought of a inside man working on causing global chaos seemed like a decent possibility. That, and well, Simmons was the National Security Advisor, and he killed over 70,000 people, including the former President.

"Because their tracking my movements. An employer at E'World doesn't have the Intel on how to do that."

This shitty situation just got shittier.

"How do you know their tracking you?" Jake asked, there has got to be something.

Leon glanced at him for a second, the days recent events playing over in his head like a movie. "We have a suspect that has not been introduced to the public, a man who we believed who I now know, killed those four people. He was waiting for me outside the grocery store this morning. He knew exactly where I was and when. That's why when you broke into my apartment I was edgy, If that man could track me in a public area, then why not here?"

Thinking about the rather tense greeting they had, Jake understood. Leon has every right to fight before thinking when he finds an intruder after what had happened that day. So Jake forgave him, yeah, he really did deserve it. 'Maybe I should stay after all.' He thought, before something else hit him. "You were shopping?" He asked, looking at the agent in mild surprise, before a smirk lit up his face.

Leon glared, "Shut up." Before standing up, taking both the empty bottles and putting them in the bin.

Jake laughed, shaking his head. "Sorry Hero, I just can't picture it."

"Then don't." Leon didn't miss the nickname Jake was so fond of using, and guessed they were now on even terms, if not good, but even.

Jake stood up as well, rubbing at the side of his head, looking around the apartment. "Nice place you got here. So what happens now?"

Leon glanced at him, walking over to the window and locking it, drawing the curtains to close. "Well, I don't know what your gonna do, But I'm going to try and get more sleep. You really need to pick better times for a visit, and knock next time."

"Maybe," Jake shrugged his shoulders, "But that's not really my style, you see, knocking is boring This way was so much more interesting." Crossing his arms in front of him, feet firmly on the ground, Jake made a point that he wasn't moving.

"Right. Interesting." Leon took one look at the ex-mercenary, signing, before walking over to a small wardrobe next to the bathroom, he grabbed out a extra blanket, before walking to his room and taking a spare pillow off his bead. Turning around and throwing them at the younger man who caught them with ease. "You got the couch." Was all he said, before turning off the lights and proceeding to his bed, laying down, with a shirt on this time.

Jake blinked at the darkness, before his eyes adjusted, and after removing his shoes and coat, belt, cloves, and the gun he concealed under his coat, he sat down, nodding as the couch was more comfortable than he though.

It took him a moment before he grew tired, the days events and travelling catching up to him, thoughts ran through his mind as he lay there. The things that Leon told him, about his life of how he became a government agent, and the recent events of missing data and information, seemed to slowly piece itself together. Unfortunately the picture of the puzzle was still unidentified, and the thought of the suspect tracking the agent lead Jake to grab his gun and place it within easy reach on the coffee table next to him, should something else go south tonight, he wanted to be ready for it.

'The man truly is a hero.' He thought, Leon sacrificed his life for Sherry, and in ways Jake realised with startling truth that they both were not as different as he thought. He too had given away his life to become a mercenary, to try and get some money for his mother who was ill. He'd started at the age of 19, accepting any job thrown at his way, and when he lost his mother to the illness, years later, he is still caught in the life of a mercenary, and probably would be for life if Sherry hadn't come along. Sherry, the girl who wouldn't be alive today if it wasn't for Leon...

'All right super girl.' He thought, determined now. 'Lets get to the bottom of this.' He was here now on request of Sherry, and he wasn't leaving until the threat had been dealt with.


	4. Chapter 4

**Had to re-post this one, something went hell wrong, sorry about the spelling!**

**It is currently 27 degrees. at 9pm. No, not AM, but PM, ya' know, in the night. I am melting here, rather surprised my computer hasn't blown up in my face. Eesh.**

**Well... A long one here, didnt think it would be this much! I'm proud of this one, a few things are missing though, but I'll make up for it in the next chapter. **

**So... hope ya'll enjoy. Until next time my freaky darlings! **

**CHAPTER 4:**

_Marco - Polo_

_"So far all our leads have come to dead ends. There is no paper trail leading back to the person who did all this, and with your theory of a man working on the inside seems to be the reason."_

"Have you told anyone about that theory? Its best to keep it under wraps, we don't want the person to catch talk of our plans, as we do not yet know what they really want, and what their capable of should their cover gets blown."

Jake watched from where he sat on Leon's office chair, feet kicked up on the desk as he eyed the other man who was pacing in the apartment room and talking to the other person on the phone. The coffee that the older man had made was sitting on the dinner table, somewhat forgotten, the steam rising in relaxing misty patterns, a complete contrast of the situation at hand made Jake wonder just how screwed up their lives were from the normal scale.

He had woken up at 7am feeling refreshed despite the short amount of sleep he'd managed to get, and after a short moment of thinking, he'd taken the time to walk around the hero's apartment, familiarising himself with the layout then the rest of the building, taking note of every floor and all the necessary things like escape routes and entry points. Smiling mentally when he'd realised why the hero lived in this particular part of the building. It was right next to the fire exit.

"Are you sure this line in secure?" Leon pressed, the thought of it being bugged wasn't entry comforting.

_"Yes, after your email about the suspect that tracked you, I made a note to avoid using anything thats from here to contact you. Which means I'll be calling you from here onwards, and I'd advise you to do the same. Your home laptop is likely tapped."_

Nodding, Leon agreed. "Yeah, I guessed as much. Though I'm still in the dark of how they tracked me in the street." He paused, thinking. "Hunnigan, what about surveillance cameras?"

_"Like the one in the store? Yeah, considering our man's skills so far, I'd say that hacking into those would be too easy. You'd need to have access to a computer, maybe we can trace it back?"_

"Possibly, but the man I saw across the street didn't have access to a computer. What about phones?"

_"Not likely, you need a direct link to the camera, something you can't do wirelessly using a phone."_

Leon signed, bringing up a hand to message the bridge of his nose, "Then its not just one man." He was hoping that there was only one man, despite the job they had pulled of required a lot more. He was tired still, and all he wanted to do was get a good weeks worth of rest, but it seemed the world was against that idea, and kept throwing obstacles at him, like the one currently sprawled out on his desk like he owned the place. He'd woken up this morning to an empty apartment, and thought that the ex-mercenary had left after all. That though vanished as he was making a much needed cup of coffee when the man let himself back in the front door, Leon's keys in hand. He didn't even want to know how the younger man got those.

"I'll tell you one thing, I'm not sitting around. I think its time to pay a visit to Mr Dee's family, and try and find him. If there's any paper trail, it starts with Benjamin. Every plan has a bread crumb, It's just a matter of finding the first one."

_"Alright, just keep your head low. I'll keep in touch."_

"Will do, and be careful Hunnigan. Your the only one I can trust, so keep this between us." He said, before ending the call.

"You didn't mention me?" Jake asked as the other man finished the conversation.

"No," Shaking his head, Leon walked over to the table, picking up his coffee and signing, before going to the kitchen and pouring the now cool coffee down the sink. "It's better that your detail is left out for the time being. We don't know what we're dealing with here, or who would be listening in." Moving to the other side of the room, Leon pulled out some clothes from his draws, arranging them on the bed before pulling out other various items, such as his Berretta and his knife, badge and ID.

Jake shrugged his shoulders, "So, where are we goin'?"

Leon looked at the man, his gaze fixed on Jake's face, not missing the 'we' part. "So your going to help me?" He asked, wondering.

Taking his feet of the desk, but still remanded sitting, Jake dismissed the idea of 'helping' the agent, and simply said, "I'm a mercenary at heart, there's got to be some kick in this." Even to his own ears, that didn't comfort him like it did before. After all, this time, its not about the money, and that confused Jake.

Leon could see the doubt that briefly clouded the younger mans eyes, what happened in China changed him, and now he wasn't sure where he stood amongst everyone else. It wasn't the money that was driving Jake anymore. Leon decided not to question him, and simply nodded. "In that case, since your here now, I'll fill you in on the details." Walking over to stand beside the seated man, he opened his laptop and entered in the requirements, taking note that he couldn't risk contacting anyone or using it much. He opened all the files on every detail linked to the weeks past events, and sent them to his printer located on the corner of the desk.

"Everything that concerns this situation is all here, all up to date. Everything that has happened in the past week, as well as the information that went missing. If your going to help me, I'd advise you to read this."

Leon said, watching the younger man who nodded before taking the first of what was many pages to come. He didnt look like the sit down and read type, but accepted the papers anyway. "We leave in an hour, that should give you enough time." When Jake didnt answer as he started reading, Leon took that as a good sign as he then moved to the next room, gathering the things that they would need for the trip to Mr Dee's home.

~{{Page Break}}~

_'-They tellin' me its all good just wait,_

_You know your gonna be there,_

_Someday._

_Sippin' on Jim Bean ok,_

_Gotta get these things one day._

_Till then do another line you know,_

_Searching for that other high,_

_Stop or I gotta steal then steal,_

_Kill or I'm gonna be killed-'_

Leon mentally cringed at the volume of the music blasting through his car speakers, and although he didnt mind the song choice, his ears did at the volume, but it seemed that the ex-mercenary in the passenger seat beside him insisted on turning the volume up every time Leon turned it down. Another reason that the agent argued that in no way was Jake ever going to sit behind the wheel and drive his car. An argument that the younger man found rather amusing.

"So," Jake started, having to raise his voice a little to get over the volume of the music. "How is our dead guy going to help us track down the people who did this?" He asked, the information he'd read now stuck into his mind, and now he has a better understanding of how serious the situation is, considering the reports that were missing.

"He's not dead, he's missing." Leon replied, eyes on the road ahead of him.

Jake nodded. "Fine, how's our missing dead guy gonna help us?"

Leon signed, shooting a glare at the younger man's way, reaching over to turn the volume down just a little bit, and giving Jake a warning look. "I believe he's still alive, and has connections if not the location and names of who we are dealing with here. We are going to talk to his family, find out as much about Mr Dee as we can, and maybe we'll find a bread crumb." Now talking normally that the music was down.

"We find a bread crumb, we find our Dee-" Jake started.

"We'll find our suspect." Leon finished. "Everyone makes mistakes, even the best. Mr Dee is still out there. He's not our mistake, but he's the start of it."

It was just before 11am when they pulled up in front of a small house nested in a neighbourhood, people were walking their animals, mowing their lawns, chatting over fences. All and all, it looked like a street that knew each other well, that got along, people who would know outsiders when they see one. Such as the questioning glances their car got when they parked on the side of the road. The house was one story, a well cared for garden at the front with potted plants lining the foot path up to the steps of the front door, the letter box read the number Leon had been looking for. 41 Amber street.

Turning off the engine and unclipping his seat belt, Leon halted Jake before he could move. "I'll be doing the talking, alright." He looked at the ex-mercenary, simply reminding him that he was an agent, and that the other wasnt. Jake looked at him, expression unreadable, before nodding once and opening the door, exiting the vehicle. Leon signed, this was going to be interesting, in a slightly bad way.

Walking up the foot path with Jake tailing slightly behind him, he could feel the eyes on his back from curious neighbours, he guessed it was because they were not in a uniform that made their identities known, and therefore their identity was unknown to the people who were looking in, curious and yet weary.

Reaching the dark green painted door, Leon pressed the bell located on the side, and waited. It was a typical family home, white fence, garden at the front, various toys here and there, he smiled briefly at the thought, the life of a normal family, but it seemed that life was now running down a bumpy road, unsetting the peacefulness. His smile vanished as quick as it came. These people shouldn't have to go through this. No one should.

A few moments passed, Jake was shifting on his feet, bored. His hands were itching to do something, preferably to push the button again. He exchanged his look with the older man beside him, noting that the agent was calm and patient, his aura had changed, marking a presence of a Secret Service Agent, even without a uniform. He was the most respected agent working for the U.S Government.

"Maybe no one's home." Jake mumbled, causing the man next to him to look, his expression unreadable. However, the silence was broken by the sound of a lock turning before the door opened.

A tired looking woman stood on the other side of the green door, looked to be in her early 30s, long straight brown hair framed her face, dressed casually in a shirt and jeans.

"Ms Dee?" Leon asked, his posture was professional but his voice soft, not wanting to intrude.

The woman nodded slightly, "Yes." She sounded as tired as she looked.

Leon reached into his jacket pocket, pulling put his ID and showing it to her. "I'm Agent Kennedy, this-" He gestured to the man on his right, "-is Mr Muller,-" Jake looked at him, before nodding to the woman. "I'm here concerning your husband." He finished, keeping his ID out until Ms Dee was satisfied.

She nodded at him, before opening the door all the way. "Come in."

Leon looked at Jake, passing a silent message for him to keep quiet, who looked slightly annoyed. 'Really,' Jake thought. '_Mr_ Muller?', than makes it sound like he's married.

They stepped into the home, Jake closing the door behind him as Ms Dee lead them to the lounge room area, which was simple and modern, but coloured in browns and greens, as well as light coffee shades. The windows were closed but the curtains had been pulled open, lighting the area up. It was also warm inside compared to the cold sunny day outside. Ms Dee motioned to the couches with her hands, which to two followed suit and made themselves comfortable.

"You don't look like Government." She said as she sat down, across from them. Her eyes looked slightly red, probably due to lack of sleep and the stress and worry of her missing husband.

"I'm off duty, ma'am. But I have made it _my_ duty to work on this case until Mr Dee is home safe." Leon said, wanting to reassure her why he was hear.

She looked at him, her respect for the agent went up, even though she hadn't a reason to trust his word yet. "But why would the Secret Service be looking into this?" As much as she appreciated more people trying to find her husband, she was concerned at why higher ups were looking in on the investigation. The thought not exactly comforting, because it was her husband that was missing, and what she thought was a simple hostage situation being a random act of violence. If it had Government agents knocking on her door step, then maybe this was more serious than what she first thought, and considering the man in front of her was off duty but still working on the case, it must seem the Government wanted this resolved as quickly as possible.

Leon thought for a second before replying, choosing his words carefully. "Your husband, Benjamin, works for E'World. A global network, which I'm sure your aware, was robbed a few days ago."

She nodded, but looked a little confused. "Yes, I'v seen that on the news. About the Government loosing valuable information." She paused, before asking in a restrained angry tone. "You dont think he had anything to do with that, do you?"

Leon looked down, eyes catching on a photo of the family on the table in front of him, both husband and wife were holding hands, and two kids, one younger and the other older, smiles were lit up on there faces. "I will not lie to you, ma'am. I believe there is a connection to Mr Dee and the theft of E'World, but I dont think he was responsible." Looking back up at her, he said, "I believe, that finding Mr Dee will have the answer to this entire investigation. I want to find him, and hopefully, bring him home."

She looked back at him, her anger melting away into tears that threatened to fall. "S-amantha, call me Samantha." She said, her voice wavering and thick with emotion. "Will you bring him home, Agent Kennedy?"

"Call me Leon." He said, looking at her softly before his face turned determined and set. "And I wont stop until I find him."

Samantha smiled, well, tried to, but it didn't reach her eyes as a few tears trailed down her face, stopping when she wiped them away with a tissue she'd grabbed from the table. She looked at the agent, gratefully, her trust in him now something of a comfort. She knew he meant what he said.

Leon sat forward, looking intenty in her eyes. "I'm going to need you help," He said gently, "You know your husband better than anyone else in this room." He watched as she nodded, "Are you up for it?" He asked, making sure she understood, and was calm enough to help him.

She swallowed dryly, before nodding a few times. "Yeah..."

Leon looked at her, waiting for a few moments, before deciding to go ahead. Jake had gotten up from his seated position, and started wandering the small space of the living room, looking at all the details. Something neither Leon or Samantha objected to.

Leon spoke carefully and slowly, not wanting to rush her. "I need you to think about the past 6 months, I know its a long stretch, but our Intel believe this has been going for a while. Don't worry about every detail, or even much detail at all. Just anything that you, even slightly, found odd or strange. Doesn't have to centre around Benjamin, but anything that has happened that you thought to be out of place."

She blinked a few times, her emotion now in check as her mind processed what the other man was telling her.

"He.." She started, "Came home one afternoon, about 4 months ago, saying that he was being promoted. I was happy for him, even though it was rather out of the blue." She shrugged. Looking at the agent, who nodded at her to continue. "The next day, we had a man show up at our door, claiming he worked for the company."

"What did he look like?" Leon asked, listening intently.

"He was tall, I'd say just under 6 foot, brown hair, green eyes." She answered, the man's image clear in her head.

Reconisation flared in Leon's mind, the imaged of the man that he saw across the street a few days ago flashed in front of his eyes. "What was he wearing?" He pressed, gently, but wanting to confirm his suspect.

She though for a second, "A brown coat.." She looked at him in question.

Leon nodded, that was all he needed for the identity. "Anything else that was odd?"

"Benjamin started getting... paranoid, i think would be the word to describe it. He would call me everyday about 5 times, wanting to know where I was, and how the kids were doing. Then when he would come home, making sure all the doors and windows were locked, asking me all these questions, telling me not to speak to strangers, keeping the kids indoors. After dinner, he would lock himself in his study, and forbid anyone from disturbing him, saying that he had a lot of work to do."

"Did he say what kind of work?"

She shook her head. "No.. I always assumed it was because of his promotion." She stopped for a moment, thinking. "It wasn't until a month ago that he started getting calls..."

"Calls from work?"

She paused again, stuttering.

"Just take your time." Leon said reassuringly.

She sat there tiredly, gathering her thoughts before she began again. "I dont know, but every time his phone rang, he'd stop everything to answer it, going to his study again and closing the door..." She stopped again for a moment, looking confused, a frown marking her face.

Leon noticed he hesitation and confusion, and knew it wasn't just directed at the bizar calls that her husband got. "Samantha?" He asked her, leaning forward slightly, looking at her with concern.

Samantha looked up at him, her thoughts going back. She had a gut feeling that it wasn't work that was calling her husband all the time, for a simple reason that the word she heard one night wouldn't be the word you'd use greeting your boss when they'd call you, nor would be the reaction that Benjamin gave every time the ring tone of his cell would sound, startling the man every time. "Polo..." She said. "He would answer the phone every time and say 'Polo'." She clarified the detail at the confused look the agent gave her at her words.

Jake was across the room when he heard the word, turning to look over in their direction. Even though he had no idea what that meant, the word struck an interest in him, he had a feeling that he should know what it meant, a connection, but what ever it was that bugged him seemed to slip from his fingers before he could even get a grasp.

Leon too looked thoughtful, trying to peace together what sort of meaning that was behind to what Samantha just told him. Polo could mean a wide range of things, things that didn't make sense to their current situation. A few things went through his head, only to be mentally thrown aside when they didn't fit with the scenario. Why would someone answer the phone saying 'Polo'? The room was quiet for a moment, before something hit him, it wasnt much, but he voiced his thoughts. "Like Marco and Polo?" He said in confusion.

Jake clicked his fingers, causing the others to look at him. "Exactly like Marco Polo." He said to them, looking at Samantha before directing his gaze to Leon. "Its a line of code, the caller to identify himself and vice versa without actually giving away any real profile of his identity." A code that sounded familiar to Jake, and yet it didn't at all.

Leon nodded in understanding, that sounded exactly right. He turned to Samantha, "That man who stopped by that day, did he give you a name?" He asked her.

She nodded quickly. "Steve... Jen..." She trailed off, trying to remember the last name.

Jake looked at her, a frown on his face, "Jension?" He asked, not too sure if that was what she was after, but it was the first thing that came to mind due to what he read before. But that didn't make sense.

She looked up at the younger man, and nodded. "Yes, Steve Jension." She watched both mens reactions, noting that they looked at each other, a silent message passed that she was only partly able to identify. "You know him?" She asked.

Things just got a little complicated, Leon didnt know if this information was a good thing or a bad thing. He knew the name, read about it in one of the emails Hunnigan sent him. It didnt make any logical sense, after all, why would the suspect who visited Mr Dee every 4th day of the new month take the name of a victim he didn't kill until weeks later?

He was about to say something when the sound of a ringing phone took his attention away from his thoughts. He looked up as Samantha stood, giving him a 'one moment' look before she went to answer the source of the noise and leaving the two men in the room to ponder over what they'd just been told.

"I don't get it." Jake said, shrugging as he walked over to where Leon was seated, leaning against the arm of the couch next to the agent. "I thought he was dead, and worked for charity."

Leon nodded, "I thought so too." But not only thought, it was confirmed at the crime scene, they had the body and all the evidence of Steve Jension.

Foot steps came into the room marking the presence of Samantha, causing both to look in her direction and seeing that she held her house phone to her ear. It was the look on her face that caused Leon to stand up though. She looked...

"Agent Kennedy.. I-Its for you." She said nervously, walking tentatively over and holding the phone out to him.

Leon shared a glance with Jake before he reached to take the phone, bringing it to his ear for a moment, listening before speaking. "Agent Kennedy." He said, letting the caller know who he was talking to, as requested. The room was silent for a few moments, Leon's face remained the same indicating that the caller hadn't spoken yet. Jake looked on and waited, Samantha was biting her lip, looking edgy.

_"...Leon Scott Kennedy.. Nice to finally talk to you."_

The voice on the other line was deep, a man obviously, and completely untrust worthy. If this guy was acting on first impressions, he just made himself a target. Although Leon didn't know _who_ this man was, he knew who he was talking to. "Steve Jension. Right?" He asked into the phone, taking a few steps around the room, walking idly. He knew it wasnt the Steve from the crime scene though.

_"Steve Jension is dead... You know that." _

Yes. He did know that. And he had a feeling that this is only a social call, nothing about business, only game, and Leon was part of it. Jake took a few steps towards the agent until he was within reach, standing just so he was in the agents line of sight, looking the older man directly in the eyes, waiting.

Leon looked back at the ex-mercenary as the caller continued.

_"Marco..." _

The voice drawled out lazily. Leon replied accordingly to the phrase. "Polo." He said as Jake looked at him with realisation, as Samantha too looked at him. Many thoughts ran through Leon's mind, questions he needed to ask but knowing all to well that he wont receive any valid answer in return. It was too early in the game for the caller to show his cards. So he waited, let the caller do the talking. It was shortly after that thought when the light breathing on the other end was cut off by the voice of the caller.

_"...Found you."_

There was un-mistakenly the sound of the line going dead, indicating that the other had hung up.

Jake was momentarily stunned when the older man suddenly moved to the open window all the while keeping fast and low, his urgent tone took a moment to register in Jakes mind.

"Get down!"

Alarm spreaded like wild fire through Jake as he understood, running to a scared Samantha and grabbing her, pulling her out of the line of sight from the open windows.

Leon crouched by the window, the phone lay forgotten as he took out his sidearm, holding the weapon close with caution, his mind expecting an attack at any given moment. He glanced over to Jake who had taken cover behind one of the couches, Samantha behind him. The fact that he couldn't see her meant she was well hidden from prying eyes, she was safe. Leon could just see Jakes face peering out from the side, no doubt that he too had his weapon free should he need it.

Taking a breath, Leon moved slightly so he could get a good view out the window. His eyes caught the world outside, seeing people walking, chatting, all like before when they arrived. Something that striked a nerve, made him wonder. They were being watched, that much was certain, but who ever was out their hasn't yet carried out any possible threat, but that didn't mean it wasn't there, and Leon was taking no chances.

"What the hell? Leon?" Jake called out from where he was, tense and ready for a fight. When he got the agents warning, he was expecting bullets to go flying, not absolutely nothing, but he kept himself low and his guard up.

Leon glanced out the window a moment longer, risking standing up to get a better view and putting himself in line of sight, but calmed when nothing happened, and didn't see anything that was out of place. Maybe his new found friend had played him, just to see his reaction to a possible threat. What ever it was, it worked, but falling for it was something he accepted, better to react to something thats not going to happen, then not reaching to something that does indeed happen. He signed. "He could see us.."

Seeing the agent relax, Jake soon did to after confirming that it was safe to step out from cover. He holstered his weapon, the silver disappearing within his jacket. Moving over to stand beside the agent, he too had a look outside, eyes scanning the area, every detail, every window and car, people, he couldn't see anything that wasn't there before. "What does he want?" He asked in annoyance.

Leon stood there, having holstered his weapon too now that there was no visible danger. Despite the disappearance, he still felt uneasy, that someone was still watching. Their travel it seemed was unsuccessful, he was hoping for a location, somewhere that will lead him to the nest, the people behind all this, and although that phone call helped, he wasnt sure which side got the bigger slice of the cake. "I dont know." He finally said, turning to look at Jake before walking over to a still scared Samantha.

"He's out there? The man who took my husband?" Her voice was slightly panicked, when she answered the call, she knew straight away that something was wrong on the other end. But the fact that the caller appeared to have been right outside her property, watching them, that scared her like nothing before. "What do I do?" Looking at the men in worry, she didnt want to leave her house.

"You do nothing." Leon said to her, placing his hands gently on her shoulder and drawing her eyes to his. She looked confused at what he said. "You stay here, with you children, don't panic, don't run. If you run, we wont be able to help. I know its hard, but you cant be part of this investigation, don't give anyone a reason to suspect you." He walked over to the table and picked up a envelop that was there, pulling a pen from his pocket he wrote something down. "This is my number, If you see anything, hear anything, or is something goes even slightly wrong, you call me." He said, giving her the paper.

She looked at the paper, before nodding quickly, biting her lip again. "W-What are you going to do?" She looked back up.

"I'm going to call in a unit, they will supervise the street, keeping an eye on you. As for the rest, I'm going to get to the bottom of this, I _will_ bring Benjamin home." He replied, nodding at Jake and started walking to the front door.

The short walk back to the jeep was cautious, both men keeping their guard up, the possible threat staring at them, following their moves, eyes burning into the back of one, but lingering on the other. This game had only just started, one piece was set already, but the new piece came as a surprise, something he will greatly use to his advantage, something he delighted in, like the coin sitting in your pocket, a coin you didn't know was their, not until you took out the trash. He was going to enjoy this game, this was his story now, with his role play set, pages in motion, he will write it out his way.

Eyes followed the younger man as he disappeared into the vehicle, which sooner drove down the street.

His favourite character just joined the picture, and he was going to enjoy writing him.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Re-posting this one, it was a ghost chapter, said it was there when it wasn't, no idea how that happened.. Sorry guys! O.o**_

_**Short one this one, eh, but I'm getting somewhere with this, don't worry! I'm going to try and get the next chapter up within a few days, saying if I don't melt first though, or get blown up, which ever. 40 something degrees tomorrow. Ouch. Don't know what happened with the whole ID thing at the beginning. It kinda just.. happened, and didn't go away. Oh well.**_

_**And here we go...**_

_**R&R! :D**_

**CHAPTER 5**

_Identification Required_

ID: Wendy 'Heather' Nelson, Age 27, worked at the Chemical Research Science department.

Role: Analysing research data, from flu cases to diseases and viruses to mental and physical health.

Past achievements were creating the vaccination to flu cases, Diabetes, Cancer, including animal health care.

- Married at the age of 24 to Brad Halliway, no children. Lived at 12 Grapes Avenue.

ID: Benjamin Dee, Age 33, worked at a global Network company called E'World.

Role: Sorting information to files, filtering files to categories, categories which were made up of a number of groups.

Role Promotion: Government data files, surveillance and traffic feeds, office buildings and shopping stores.

- Married to Samantha Dee, 2 Children age 8 and 12. Living at 41 Amber Street.

ID: Steve Jension, Age 40, worked at Victoria Mary Hospital.

Role: Head doctor for A Wing.

Awarded for Doctor of the Year in 2005, and in 2009. Traveled the world to help with other hospitals, including the Military, Navy, and Air Force.

Believed to previously work for WilPharmer.

- Married to Mary Juliette, 1 Child age 22. Living at 45A Centric Park.

ID: Keith Hendrics, Age 35, Manager at Quinton Airport.

Dead ends in life are never easy, they are not easily avoided, understood, or resolved. If you are given the opportunity to take the step away from that, then do so, for once you are caught in its seemingly restrained grasp, you will find that the key to your shackles is in the hands of people who have no intention of setting you free, leaving you to pick at the locks, saying, If you even know how to do that. Whether or not the restraints have you in a room with only one door and a two way mirror, confined to the space of your actions that warrant you a criminal record, or the dead end of a run that holds you to choose the options you wouldn't have chosen because the simple fact that those options are not the safest or brightest, or even the simple knowledge that you are at the end of your rope, hanging above on the 130th floor of the worlds tallest building in Dubai. You need to take in the note that there are more floors above you, more options and possibilities that will give you the key to break free of your dead end. There is always an alternative option. Whether or not you take it, is your choice.

Unfortunately, your captors will also have that choice, and being in control of the situation is something they will have, they are the people holding the key, and they make the calls. A situation like such usually warrants a reason, why are you under their eyes? Why are you bound to the chair? Who are they? Do you know them, or do they know you? What do they want? Will you give in to their demands, or will you resist? The options are their, the choice is yours, but its the consequences of those choices that take the next floor up. Will you answer their questions to the best of your knowledge, there for putting something at risk? Or will you remain silent, putting yourself at risk?

One way or another, the option of choice can be very limited, but sometimes, you are not given that option.

~{{Page Break}}~

"So all we have is some creepy ass coward on the phone?"

Leon signed, sitting in his office chair, the days events playing out in his head like a movie. They'd come back to his apartment after visiting Ms Dee, the entire time the radio had been turned off, and eyes darting to the review mirrors for any sign of being tailed. He stared down at his phone next to him, pondering the situation. Who ever this 'Marco' guy was knew they were there, no surprise to Leon who already had his fair share with people appearing everywhere he was. He'd hoped to come back with some information on their suspect, at motive for their next step, but all they got was some guy playing marco polo on the phone. Something that annoyed the agent, among other disturbances like the one that is standing in his kitchen looking in his fridge, half dressed after taking a shower in his bathroom.

"How do you eat, hero? You hardly have any food." Jake grumbled from where he was bent into the fridge, eyes looking at every corner hoping something to his liking will appear, of maybe a secret button for hidden compartments. Only to stand up, shaking his head and closing the door, before looking over at the agent, glaring. "This is bad room service, man."

Leon looked back at him, annoyed, before looking into space again. "I don't usually stay here long." He said, before deciding to pick up the pages on his desk that he had Jake read earlier, going through them himself and re-reading them, incase he missed something. "Four victims, all within a week of each other, all connected to to killer which authorities are now naming 'White Wolf'." Leon shook his head, "The only lead we have is Benjamin, who is currently missing, and with him the identities of the group who did this."

Jake watched in silence, thinking.

Leon paused, the call they received today at the Dee's house coming to mind again, disturbing him. "What do you make of Marco Polo?" He asked, not to anyone specific, but needing to get the question out there.

'There is something about that...' Jake thought, he felt like he should know what it meant, what it stood for, but his mind kept coming up blank. "Its familiar." Jake said, causing the agent to look at him in question.

"How?"

There was silence again, before Jake shook his head, leaning on the kitchen counter. "I don't know." It was familiar, yes, but as to how or why, was what bugged the ex-mercenary. They both stood and sat there, looking at each other, one glance questioning the other, and the other unreadable. There was a knock at the door, breaking the silence.

Jake moved to answer as Leon kept reading, all the while keeping half of his attention on the ex-mercenary and the door.

Jake had a feeling that once he found out why the caller's game sounded familiar, he'd have their lead on what was happening, and who the caller is, preferably that later. He wasn't all to pleased that they'd come back with nothing, he wasn't the type to wonder around aimlessly, no, he was the type to get things done, so coming back with nothing mildly pissed him off, but he kept his anger in check. He'd save his annoyance for some bastards teeth, in which will be met with his fist. He mentally laughed at the though, unlocking the door and opening it. What was on the other side, however, was something he really wasn't expecting.

"..Oh!.. Hello dear, I didn't know he had company, is Leon home?"

Jake stood there, partly frozen, not knowing what to do when there was an elderly lady standing in front of him wearing a daisy apron, holding a basket and looking at him with cheery eyes and a big smile.

Leon's eyes snapped up from the papers as he heard that all to familiar happy voice, jumping out of his chair and walking quickly over to the door, moving to stand on Jake's left and smiling at Ms Smith. "Afternoon Ms Smith." He said, leaning against the door frame.

She beamed up at him. "There's my boy! You looked tired yesterday, so I made you your favourite, choc-chip cookies." She handed him the basket, smiling at him before turning her gaze to the other man, taking note of the confusion on his face, and his state of half dress. "Who's this handsome young man?" She asked happily, reaching up to grasp his shoulder like a mother would. "Tall too," She said, un-intentually cutting off Leon's reply. She looked at the two for a second, before enquiring with a knowing look. "Boyfriend?" She asked with a smile, seeing the look on both of their faces at her words.

"What?" Jake mentally cringed, looking at the agent next to him, who frowned at him before smiling down at the elderly woman.

"No," Leon said, waving off her thoughts. "He's a friend from work, helping me with a case. Ms Smith, this is Jake." He gestured to Ms Smith and then to the ex-mercenary, introductions done.

"Oh, sure, he's a handsome one." She said, winking. "Your Government to? You boys and your guns." She signed, but her smile never wavered.

"Yeah.." Jake said, his confused look slowly melting into a small smile, after all, how could he not? "Something like that."

She laughed, "Well, you make sure you get a few cookies before Leon here eats them all." She reached up, having to stand on her toes to pinch the ex-mercenaries cheek, grinning at the slight embarrassed look on his face.

Leon smirked at the younger man, very amused by his reaction to this little situation, which was returned when Ms Smith did the same to him.

"Oh!" she suddenly exclaimed, reaching into the pocket of her apron, pulling out a small envelop. "I almost forgot, dear." Handing it to the agent. "Getting old these days." She said in a hushed tone and shaking her head, smiling, before continuing. "A lovely lady came by when you were out, wanted to give you this, said she was from the office."

Leon nodded, taking the envelop. "Thanks."

"You boys stay safe, don't let work get to you." She said, giving them both a concerned, yet happy look. "I'v got to go, make sure Ben doesn't burn down the building." Looking around inconspicuously, leaning in, "Men." She muttered, shaking her head mockingly. Causing both of them to smile.

"Take care, Ms Smith." Leon said, "And thanks, again, for the cookies." He smiled gently down at her.

She returned the smile, then looked at the younger man. "You keep an eye on my boy, will you lad? And both of you stay out of trouble." She had that concerned gaze again, looking at the ex-mercenary.

Jake was silent for a short moment, as he looked at the elderly woman, he couldn't help the familiar feeling that surfaced, one he never thought he'd feel again, not since his mother died. It was strange, and unwelcome at first, but he looked into her eyes, and felt a protectiveness creep into his limbs for the woman. He nodded, "Don't worry, I wont let him out of my sight." Jake said confidently but lightly, easing her worries. Seems the hero had more connections than he thought, connections that the agent wasn't too keen on having due to his line of work and the dangers, but connections that Jake was going to make sure stayed that way, he was sent here for a purpose, one he wasn't going to fail. No, Sherry wasn't loosing anyone else, and neither was Ms Smith.

She saw the truth behind the ex-mercenaries words, and in his eyes. She smiled in relief. "Thanks, honey, take care!" She waved at them happily before walking to short distance to her apartment.

Jake closed the door behind him when they walked back into the apartment, smirking at the agent. "Girlfriend of yours?" He asked, turning Ms Smith's theory around. Surprisingly, the older man didn't glare at his words, but instead he laughed good naturally, a content smile on his face.

"Thats my neighbour, She's been here since I moved in. I put a stop to a attempt burglary a few years back, since then, she's been making these for me every time I get back from work." Leon smiled, placing the basket on the table and taking out one cookie, "She reminds me of... home." He finished softly, looking up at the ex-mercenary.

Jake was silent, looking at the older man in the eyes, seeing a hint of lingering sadness reflect in the cool depts before the older man broke the gaze by nodding at the basket. "There good, help yourself."

The ex-mercenary knew a dead end when he saw one, he wasn't getting anything else out of the agent relating to the look that flashed in his eyes, so brushing his thoughts aside, Jake moved and sat down, doing as the other man bid, taking a few of the cookies and making himself comfortable. "So, whats in the envelop?" He asked, taking a bite, smiling at how good the cookies were.

Leon stood a few meters in front of the younger man, his back to the kitchen as he opened the seal, taking out a some folded paper that was inside. "Not sure, but by what Ms Smith said about it being someone from the office, I'm going to go on a hunch and say Hunnigan, but then, she always calls." He said, shrugging.

Jake clicked his fingers, "The woman you were talking to this morning?" He knew that name sounded familiar, and although he hasn't heard or ever met this 'Hunnigan', he knew she worked with the same branch as Leon did. When he didn't get a reply, he looked up to find the agent had paused. Jake sat up, it wasn't the fact that the older man was silent, or that he was staring at the paper intently in what he identified at surprise and shock. No, it was the _feeling_ that changed in the room, the vibe that the agent was suddenly giving, and that familiar gut feeling he got that something wasn't right. "Whats wrong, hero?"

His question was met with silence for a few long moments, before Leon replied somewhat dully. "Its not Hunnigan."

Jake frowned. "What do you mean, who was it from then?"

Leon continued to stare at the paper with barely restrained wonder. "I..." He paused, seeming to think about his response, before deciding, "-Don't know." That was all he was going to say for the time being on the subject of 'who sent the message'. Some things are best left kept than given, and things such at this.. Leon swallowed, eyes glued to the mark at the bottom right side of the page, a mark that consisted of a red kiss that detailed the page in lipstick. "But we have our lead." Changing the subject.

This time Jake stood up, "A lead?" He asked, the sender forgotten, now they had something, the thought of moving and getting something done made him excited, its time to make things happen.

"Yeah, who ever sent this.." Leon paused, eyes again darting to the red mark. "Knows who we are looking for. They have a location, and a name, of our suspect. White Wolf."

Jake took a glance of the paper in the agents hand, noting that he wasn't going to pass it up. A thought came to him. "Why would this person give us this information, assuming it is even correct?" He asked the agent, who seemed to know more that what he was letting on, something that Jake didn't like, but again knew it was another dead end. Thinking, he shook his head. "I don't like it. Sounds like a trap to me."

Leon again looked down at the paper, folding in and tucking it into his inner jacket pocket. "I don't think it is." He said calmly, feeling the familiar presence that wrapped around his nerves when ever he thought of her.

'There's definatly something he's not telling me..' Jake thought in frustration, and he intended to find out exactly what, but not now, it was obviously a touchy subject. He didn't have any reason to not trust the agent, and considering from what Sherry told him, and the older man's background, Jake knew he could trust him with his life. The man had secrets, and so did Jake. He accepted that, and respected it, after all, what reason did the agent have to trust _him_? Alright.

"So." Jake began, taking another cookie from the basket. "Where to, hero?"

Leon looked at him, taken out of his thoughts, and smirked at the younger man, he too was eager to finally get somewhere with this investigation. He pulled out his phone, keying in the words that he'd already memorised on the note. "There is a old office building about 20 minutes drive from here." He said, looking at what the results were on his phone. "Block 62, Watchers Works, Fredric Street. However, there is a catch." Leon added, looking at the younger man.

Jake arched a brow. "Being?" Damnit, more fine print for this one...

"There was a time written on the note that our 'friend' gave us." Leon replied, seeing the look on the ex-mercenaries face. "Set for 11pm. Tonight."

Jake's interest perked. If there was a set time for a location, then that usually means... "A Meeting?" He asked, watching the agent.

Nodding, Leon agreed. "Yeah, but with who? The one who sent us this Intel, or a meeting between the suspect and another party?"

They both looked at each other, before smirking, having the same thing in mind.

"Lets go party crashing." Jake said. This just got good.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Damn, sorry darlings, been a while. Life has been busy. Not that I'v stopped this one, I'v just been writing ahead because I got stuck. Anyway's, here is chapter 6! **_

**CHAPTER 6:**

_Night Watch_

"We need to move." Leon said, glancing uneasily around the area, the voice in his head warned him that they weren't alone, and that something was wrong.

"Yeah," Jake agreed, feeling edgy too. What he heard didn't sit well with him, the name they's picked up was a name he'd hoped to not ever hear of again. "Something's not right here. We got a lead, so I think its time to break it." Damn it, he was angry, that name should have no more existence, so why was it appearing now in this mess? More importantly, _why_ in this mess?

They started at a weary fast walk back the way they had came, silver blue eyes darted around every corner, every door and window, their breath fogging in the air masking there calm steady breathing. Only one light was on up ahead, giving them a half element of darkness to cloak their passing through the empty closed area.

'And to anyone else who is out there.' Leon thought, a horrible feeling creeping into his senses a feeling he got when walking the streets of Raccoon, that feeling of being a fish in shark waters. His breath caught, picking up his pace to a light jog, which Jake soon followed. Still a small while away from their plans of escape, still a small while away and yet too far away should something indeed go wrong. Hands were itching for their weapons as they moved, the cold night air seemed to close in on them.

Jake glanced at Leon beside him, a silent message passed through them before they both broke into a light run, side by side they were fast, they were quiet. A muffled noise in the distance behind them broke their rhythm and the nights cool. Identification of the sound was not processed until the next moment. A moment that the two were hoping to avoid.

A sharp wisp of air and the sound of a snap of a fast travelling object, followed by pain, was the only warning Leon got before his legs were knocked from under him with the force of the blow, coming in contact hard with the damp cold cement floor.

Jake stopped and turned at the sound of a bullet hitting something his mind immediately decided wasn't good, followed by a startled cry of pain. "Shit." He saw the agent collapse on the floor, and new their luck, if they had any at all, had just been cut short. He ran back the short distance from where he was to where the other was, and got just short of a meter away from his target before more snaps sounded around him, one after the other, which the later grassed his right shoulder. "Shit!" He cursed again, back tracking as another close shot hissed by his head, causing him to run to his right and take cover behind a corner of a building, temporarily abandoning his target.

Breathing was fast as the adrenalin ran through his veins, the familiar drug heightening his senses including the spark of worry that formed for the lack of presence beside him. He glanced at the blood on his right shoulder where a bullet had clipped him, and by the flow if it darkening the texture of his jacket, he guessed what kind of threat he was dealing with. Taking a fast glance around the corner, he caught sight of a spark on top of a building roughly 3 blocks away before the cause of those sparks forced him to take cover again, the bullets taking small chunks out of the wall he was standing behind.

Roof top sniper, and judging by the impact of the bullets, a 12.05 anti-material rifle, silenced. "Damn it." He muttered in annoyance Things just kept getting better, but then, they could have been worse. He dully noted as he grasped his gun from under his jacket, the weapon a comfort in his hands. He took a moment to think, before that feeling of being worried hit him again. "Leon?" He asked as he stood there, ears straining for any movement or noise.

His ears were met with a quiet, yet pained voice answering. "...Yeah."

Jake signed, relieved at the response small it was, but still comforting. He risked another glance, eyeing the agent who hadn't moved from where he had fallen, but could see him glancing his way before more clips on the wall forced Jake to duck in again behind cover, but in doing so, also revealed the shooters location. 'The bastard is using him as bait.' He thought angrily, flicking the safety off his gun and loading it. "Where are you hit?" He asked, wanting to know how fast he'd need to be.

Leon replied from where he was in the open, surprised that he was still alive, but then coming the same conclusion that Jake had come to, he was bait. "Left leg, bleeding badly." He called out, although quietly. His hand griped the side of his thigh in vain attempt at stopping the pain from running up his side. He could feel the pool of blood steadily gathering and soaking his jeans, the cool cement beneath him a small comfort as he lay there, starting to feel dizzy They needed to move, there was no telling how much longer they'd have before the situation went from bad to worse, it was only a matter of time before the sniper radioed in for back up.

"Damn it." Jake muttered, eyes darting around the area, the mind turning and processing the situation. First, he needed to distract the sniper long enough to give him a free window, a few seconds will do it. 'C'mon, C'mon, think!' He mentally cursed himself, the area didn't have much to work with. He scanned around him, taking in every detail, willing something to jump at him. Getting more edgy by the second, he was about to unleash a string of very colourful insults at partly nothing when he caught it. He could have punched himself when his eyes took in a small barrel in front of him, attached to the wall on the next building, a flammable warning printed on the side. 'What do we have here?' He thought with a smirk.

"Jake..."

The pained voice brought him back to the present, reminding him of why that barrel looked so promising. "Close your eyes and cover your head. Don't move." He called back out as an idea sprang to mind. He was playing this on a hunch, it was risky, but at that time it was all he had. The scenario; roof top sniper firing in the dark either needed night vision or a thermal scope, and Jake hoped it was the later. Thermal scopes would work the best, targeting a heat signature such as any living being, or, in this case, anything that generates a heat source He needed a distraction, and that distraction was to combine his heat signature with another more powerful one, taking over and momentarily blinding his friend stationed on the top of the building.

Kneeling down and pressing his back as far as he could to the wall behind him, he licked his dry lips and brought his gun up, counting a beat in his head. He only had a few seconds to get this right, and only once. The way the barrel was built would send most of the explosion to his right, missing both him and Leon. Some debres would come his way, but hopefully not much.

Timing was important, he counted, whether or not Leon had done as instructed, he aimed for the flammable symbol, body tensing, he fired once.

As expected, a sounding boom broke the silence, the ground trembled and fire lit up in front of him, shooting out to the side as debries from the building sparked. Not even missing a beat, Jake stood up and moved around in one smooth motion, taking a step out from his cover and aiming his handgun to where the sniper was stationed. He could feel the heat scorching through his clothes and at his back, the light of the explosion lighting up the whole area, his eyes sighted down his weapon on the man he was looking for. It was a long distance for his weapon, but he stood still and steady, time slowed with him, the light of the fire started fading slowly. He trusted his instincts. He fired.

2 shots blended together at the speed, the sound of the 9mm shell casings pinged onto the cement floor, the only sound that seemed to echo lightly through the now darkening area. Jake watched in pride as a showed figure fell from the building. He'd hit his target. All and all, only 4 seconds had passed.

"Easy does it." He smirked, holstering his gun, not sparing a glance at the mess he'd made, he ran the short distance to where Leon was.

Jake winced when he got to the older man, the injury a plain obvious sight even in the semi-darkness, the dark patch spotted on the man's jeans and pooling beneath him. Jake sat down next to him and slowly eased the agent to lie on his back, who's breathing was uneven as his hand still griped his leg, other than the tense expression marking his face, Leon gave no other sign of distress.

Assessing the wound which was located on the agents left thigh, a few inches above the knee and to the inner side, Jake really did cringe at the sight. "Not good." Although the sight of blood was something he long ago got accustomed to, the amount that was gathering on the floor was alarming. The ex-mercenary knew enough with gun shot wounds and injuries to understand that this one was serious. The bleeding needed to be stopped. Sooner rather than later.

"Not my lucky day.." Leon mumbled, trying to get his breathing under control. Sweat was breaking out on his forehead that had nothing to do with the heat from the explosion. As impressed as he was at how Jake executed the bad situation, turning it more into their favour he knew that it can turn just as bad, just as quickly as it did before if they don't get going.

Jake seemed to have that in mind too, "Do you think you can stand?" He asked, as he took of his scarf and proceeded to use it as a bandage, wrapping it as tight as he could get it around the wound before tying it in a knot, Leon's pained cry was cut short as he bit his lip in attempt to keep silent.

It took a moment before he was able to answer, and Leon's answer was his attempt at sitting up, he let out an annoyed sigh when it didn't go to his plan, and that left him laying back on the cool cement. He felt more tired than he normally did, and his energy seemed to have gone right out of the window.

Jake nodded. "No, then." Glancing around briefly taking note that their surroundings haven't changed, and that's a good thing, Jake turned back to the agent and moved to help him up. Grabbing the older man's left arm and slinging it over his shoulder, whilst his other arm wrapped around the agents waist to support him. "C'mon, hero." Jake said, pulling the man to his feet and supporting his left side to keep the pressure off his leg.

Leon bit back another pained cry at the movement, putting all his weight on his right leg and using Jake to steady himself as they began moving to their vehicle which was parked a few blocks away across the street.

"Why.. do you call me that?" He asked Jake, irritated at that word the ex-mercenary seemed so fond of using, a word he never though fitted his profile.

Jake shrugged well, as much as he could with the weight of the other man hanging on his shoulders. He risked going a little faster, turning their limped walk into a quicker pace, he had a feeling they didn't have much time left before they had some party crashes. He didn't answer Leon's question, instead he skipped it. "Lets move a little faster, I don't like this place."

Leon would have nodded if it weren't for the fact that his head was swimming, he also would have pressed for the answer to his questions but knew he'd have better luck trying to hunt down a spy who can't be found. Jake was stubborn, if not more than he was, which was allot considering the amount of people who have tried and failed at getting an answer out of him.

"How did you.. do that?" Leon asked, one more thing that was still bugging him, and the fact that he tried to remain awake.

Jake tightened his grip on the agent, before looking at him briefly in question. "Do what?"

Leon took in a breath before clarifying his question, "Back there, you blinded the sniper."

Jake tilted his head to one side, "I played a hunch." Was all he said, only now did he understand how risky that move was, which would have gotten them both killed if it didn't work. He knew what the agent was getting at, and if he was in his position, he would have punched the other in the face. Luckily for him, Jake didn't think that the older man wanted to waste any remaining strength on getting him good for a foolish move. Luckily for him, it worked.

This time Leon did shake his head, the movement small but picked up by the ex-mercenary non the less. "Great." He huffed sarcastically. That made him feel a whole lot better.

Jake could have laughed, but he didn't, eyes now catching sight of their vehicle across the street. "Nearly there." He said in relief. The wound on his shoulder was starting to complain due to the weight of the other man, but he brushed that aside, he had more urgent matters to deal with.

Finally reaching the Jeep, Jake unlocked it after fishing the keys out of Leon's jacket pocket, and Jake winced as the small beep sounded through the car lot, seeming allot louder than he originally thought. Moving around to the passenger side and opening the door, he eased the agent into the seat, mindful of his leg and moving it into a position that wouldn't hinder it. Closing the door after making sure Leon was set, Jake quickly moved around to the driver's side and got in.

Leon signed as he finally got comfortable, well, more than the throbbing in his leg that was overloading his senses Jake was starting the car, and he hoped that he wasn't as crazy with driving than he was out in the field, and he wasn't going to bother telling the younger man to take it easy, or to tell him where he lived, Jake made it clear he knew exactly where he lived a few nights ago, which Leon still hasn't been able to pry from him. That stubborn, foolish- wait, hold on...

"No hospital." Leon mumbled as he noted that the spinning surroundings weren't the ones he'd seen on going home.

Jake looked at him for a second, before looking at the road, then back at the agent, his expression later turning to one of annoyance. "What? No, hero. Your _going_ to the hospital."

"We cant risk a hospital." Leon stressed to the younger man, trying to get the point across. "They'll.. be waiting for us." He fixed his vision on the ex-mercenary, who looked right back at him.

Jake was about to argue the point of going to a hospital, the fact that he couldn't treat a wound to that extent, when he realised a minor detail. A detail that the agent is getting at. They are still being tracked, who ever is on their tale will know exactly where their going thanks to his dead sniper friend on the roof top, no doubt that he radioed in that they were injured, and the fact that what they'd walked into just a few minutes ago was a scenario that they were expected appear. So going to the hospital at this point would be making their stalkers job's allot easier.

Jake signed, hands gripping the wheel in frustration and anger. "Shit." He muttered before turning the vehicle around and heading back to the agents home, glancing back over to the agent, he had no idea what was going to happen when they got back, he was no medic, but it was unfortunately the only option at hand that didn't have them going into another trap and then defiantly getting them both killed. "Home it is, then." He said, uneasily. He didn't agree with this, looking at Leon's pale face.

No, he didn't agree at all.

_**Again, sorry for spelling or any info errors. **_


	7. Chapter 7

_**First off... I am SO sorry! My account didn't register that I had 2 more reviews, and I apologise for not replying, I actually found out when I was browsing stories and saw my story with more reviews then what I remembered seeing... Also sorry for the long wait, I have been writing ahead and just forgot to post the next chapter, time gets away from me sometimes. **_

_**So here is Chapter 7, Leon's been shot and Jake is at a loss on what to do. So when our fav mercenary does do something, how will it affect both of them? Hmmm... :D **_

_**I'm no doctor, just a mindless artist, so I got no idea how one would treat a wound, but I just did what I thought obvious, right? **_

_**Oh! And I pre-ordered my DEDSEC_EDITION copy of WatchDogs the other day... KEEN! Yeah? Who here is excited for the new hacker game? XD**_

_**Shut up, yeah, I know, on with the story. **_

_**R&R!**_

**CHAPTER: 7**

_Consider it a free Vaccine_

The night was quieter than usual, more than it normally was this late at night, 12:36 and the streets were deserted, only one or two cars could be heard in the distance, building lights were all off, including the street lights and only very few of them were left on at every corner. For that, Jake was grateful, the semi darkness helped cloak him and Leon as he walked up to the apartment building after parking the car, Leon's arm wrapped around his shoulder, the half conscious agent's weight leaning heavily on him while he lead them through the building door, heading straight for the elevator.

He hit the button as soon as he stepped in the lift that would take them up to the 3rd floor, and took a moment to glance down at the agents injured leg. His make shift bandage, the scarf was soaked through with crimson which proceeded to run down the fabric of Leon's jeans, alarming the ex-mercenary.

"You still with me, hero?" He asked as a small 'ding' sounded and letting them know they'd reached there destination. The doors then opened, and Jake hoped by luck that no one would be in the halls, he didn't have the time for questions.

Leon swallowed thickly before answering, "Yeah." Leaning more of his weight on Jake, unintentionally causing the man grunt with the effort of now draging the man down the hallway, to the end where room 101 was. His leg felt like it was on fire, and his head was swimming so much it felt like the room was tilting at random sharp angles, breathing was shaky and uneven. Just his luck.

Getting down the hallway was easier said than done, finally passing all doors and getting to the last one, Jake was about to dig his pocket for keys when a thought struck him.

'What do I do?' After they get inside, then what? He wasn't a doctor, he knew some about treating wounds, but not to the extent of this one, and he knew for certain he wasn't going to be blessed with the luck of Leon having super healing powers like Sherry.

Leon, though in a state of near unawareness, noted his hesitation, and knew where it was pointing too. "Angela..."

Jake looked down at him, "Huh?"

Taking a shaky breath, Leon tried again. "Nurse... retired nurse.. Angela Smith. Room 100."

Ms Smith, of course, the elderly lady who gave him some choc-chip cookies the other day. Jake smiled briefly in relief, heading to the door on his left that was marked 100. Looks like their luck wasn't completely run out. He just hoped the couple wouldn't make any unnecessary calls, going to the hospital was the last on his list, considering that the people who have information on them would have eyes and ears waiting at places like that. It would be dangerous for both of them.

He got to the door and knocked somewhat loudly, knowing that they'd probably be sleeping.

After a few very long seconds, nothing happened, and he started to get edgy. "C'mon, C'mon, Ms Smith!" Leon's breathing was getting more laboured, his face looked ashen. Jake knocked again, louder and longer this time. A light flicked on under the door, he continued knocking, a voice from the other side called out.

"Who's there?" It sounded like Mr Smith.

"Damn it! Open the door!" He waited another second, about to start furiously knocking the door, or even considering kicking it in despite the situation. Another second into that thought and he heard the sound of a key turning before light greeted him as the door opened.

"Do you know what time it is?" Came Mr Smiths disapproving tone.

"Please, Mr Smith, Ben, I'll call you Ben- Look, its-" Jake's sentence was cut short by the sound of Ms Smith's voice behind Ben.

"Who is it, Ben?" She stepped around Ben, wearing daisy pajamas and a purple gown, looking concerned. "Jake? What's wrong-?" Her voice trailed of as she her eyes took in Jake's face, the blood on his shirt, then she caught sight of another figure who she recognised immediately, about the same time as Ben did too. "Oh dear.." She looked horrified, before her years of training took over. "Come in, Come in!" She motioned with her hands at Jake who gratefully moved in with Leon as Ben closed the door and locked it again behind them.

Angela moved quickly over towards the sofa, pulling a blanket down before she jested for Jake. "Lay him here. Ben, I'm going to need my things!" She added, noticing the blood that soaked Leon's leg, "Bandages, and some warm salt water!" Not even looking to see if Ben left, she sat down on the other side of the sofa, opposite to Jake, and was checking Leon's vitals.

"What happened?" She asked urgently, wanting to know so she can better understand the injury.

Jake answered with all the necessary details, but leaving out the who and the how. "Gunshot wound, a through and through, happened about 20 minutes ago. The bleeding slowed a little but not much."

Angela nodded, that gave her something to go by. She peeled back the makeshift bandage, getting a glimpse of the wound before applying more pressure as blood continued to flow. Forcing a still conscious agent to groan. She looked at his pale face then at Jake's. "He's loosing too much blood." She could tell that the younger man wasn't used to having this kind of situation thrown at him, he's the type to go things solo, by himself, and even though his face was hard to read, even for her, she saw the worry he was trying to hide and yet understand as well. This was out of character for him.

The tense silence was broken by Ben walking back in, arms full of towels, bandages and a large bowl of water, with a bag slung over one shoulder.

"Put some pressure here, honey, and don't stop until I say." She motioned for Jake's hands to the wound, who did as instructed, more confidently this time. Angela turned and helped Ben with the items, she grabbed the bandages and white cloths, placing them next to her with the warm salted water. Taking the bag that held a decent amount of equipment, she pulled out the items she needed. She then took a syringe and a small bottle of a strong pain killer, unscrewing the cap and filling the needle, rolling up Leon's sleeve before wiping a clean spot on his arm where the veins were. She counted on easing the pain she knew the wound was causing and going to cause, even though her patients face was set, but what she hadn't counted on was his reaction to the sight of the needle.

Jake was holding pressure to the wound when what he thought was a unaware agent suddenly jerked, trying to sit up, his delirious gaze was fixed on the needle in Ms Smiths hand.

"Whoa, easy there hero." Keeping a firm hand on the wound, Jake gently forced the man back down with his other hand. Which wasn't an easy task, even injured the agent can still fight.

Leon continued to struggle, his breathing was panicked as a memory surfaced from Spain, "No needles, no-" His tone was demanding, seeing the things the people around him couldn't see, hearing words that were spoken years ago, he managed to get an arm free.

"Shit." Jake muttered as his questioning gaze glanced at Ben, who understood and took over the younger man's bloodied hands and applying pressure. With both hands now free, Jake turned his full attention on Leon who was still repeating his demands, and put both hands on his shoulders, shaking the agent slightly to get his attention. "Hey, hey! Easy, relax, its Ms Smith, she's going to help you." Angry tired blue eyes stared back at him, but he had stopped struggling.

"That's what _they_ said." Leon replied venomously. Catching sight of the needle sent alarm bells ringing. He knew he trusted these people, he knew they were trying to help, but that delirious and agent side of him didn't, and despite wanting to accept his more reasonable side, he just reacted.

Jake looked at him for a second, not knowing what it was exactly he was talking about, but he saw the confusion and battle in the agents eyes, and knew that what he was referring to was something of a past memory. "Look, what ever past asshole is haunting you, let it go, I'm sure you killed the bastard. Your here now, among friends." Jake tried to get through to him, "Its not going to make you sleep, its just to ease the pain, okay? And Ms Smith will bake you a whole batch of cookies after." He added with a smile, trying to lighten the mood.

It worked somewhat, as Leon blinked a few times before nodding, he relaxed his arm, somewhat tentatively holding it out for Angela, mumbling an apology, "Sorry." He looked guilty.

"Its okay, sweetie, just relax." She said as she placed her hand on his head gently, turning him to the right so he couldn't see the needle.

Jake still held his shoulders, though more at ease now, watching as Ms Smith injected the clear liquid. In short moments Leon's breathing slowed to a steady rhythm as the drug did its work, Jake released his shoulders, feeling the tension leave the agent, and he turned to Ben who still had his hands clamped down on the wound.

Angela put her glasses on and pulled out her needles and strings, threading one before placing it aside when she needed it. She then grabbed the white cloths and soaked them in the salted water, before turning to her husband and Jake. "Now, I'm going to need to clean the wound, luckily it was a through and through otherwise I'd need to dig the bullet out. When I give you the go, hold him down. Jake, you'll hold his shoulders and Ben, I need you to hold his legs." She looked at them, her voice was soft yet steady. "After that, I'll need to stitch it."

Jake nodded, along with Ben.

"Okay." She said, pleased. He took out a pair of scissors and after Ben removed his hands, she started to cut away at the fabric around the wound. The bleeding had finally slowed, but it would only start again whilst she cleaned it, which means she'll need to work quickly. When she was satisfied with the space to work with, she put the scissors down and took the cloth out of the water, wringing it lightly before looking at Jake and Ben, nodding at them. When they had a firm grip of the agent, she proceeded, placing the cloth over the wound and massaging it carefully yet firmly.

It didn't take long for Angela to clean it, and even though her patient had a dose to lessen the pain, he could still feel it. Luckily for all of them, Leon didn't have enough strength left to fight, so Jake and Ben didn't have a hard time trying to hold him still. The only thing that confirmed that the agent was still awake was the occasional failed attempt at suppressing a pained moan. Shortly after, Angela was satisfied that the wound was free of any chance of infection, she then set aside the now blood stained cloth and picked up her threaded needle, and started to stitch.

The room was quiet, and Jake felt the itching need to pace as he watched Ms Smith do her work, wanting things to be done by now. They still had a job to do, he still had a job to do, and he couldn't help but wonder how things were going to play out from here onwards.

A long few minutes later, Angela had stitched both the entry and exit wound, which the later was a little more difficult, but the bullet tore a hole too large to be left with nothing keeping it together, and she didn't have the necessary tools to treat it as thoroughly as she would have liked. When she finished, she wrapped it with some help from her husband, making sure it was firmly secure, before she sat back with a weary sigh. Placing her hand on the now unconscious agent's cool forehead.

"I've done everything I can." She told Jake.

Jake nodded, "Good. He'll be fine then." Now that the situation was back under control, the itching feeling he'd felt before faded.

Ms Smith gave him a sharp look. "He's not fine, and nor is he going to be if we don't get him to a hospital soon. He's lost too much blood, and he'll need a blood transfusion, something I can't do here." Her words were stressed and urgent, trying to get through to the younger man.

"Can't happen." Dismissing her words, Jake knew there was no way he was going to risk a hospital. Nothing good ever happened there in his books, and now both of them were being targeted, he wasn't about to make the mistake of doing exactly what the attackers wanted them to do.

Ms Smith looked angry at his words, so did Ben. "Lad, there is no possible way we can perform that kind of work here, we don't keep bags of blood stored in our fridge." Ben tried to reason with the man. "Your friend needs a hospital."

"Look," Returning the favour, Jake reasoned with them, pointing a finger. "We can't go to a hospital, the people who did this-" He gestured at Leon, "Will be waiting for us there, and I'm not about to walk into the same trap that we did before, I won't let that happen." He'd thought about the situation, there is still a possible outcome that won't involve any unnecessary risks.

"So what? Your going to sit here and wait? I don't think you understand how important it is that Leon gets the transfusion." Ben spoke, his time in the Navy taught him enough to know about this sort of thing, something he'd learnt well in his time.

Jake was silent, eyes were staring at the unconscious agent, and Ms Smith could see the thoughts working behind those eyes, mind processing the recent events and future options.

"Honey," Ms Smith began, "We-"

"I'll do it."

There was silence for a second, and both Angela and Ben looked at him in question, not too sure what he was getting at.

"Do what?" Ben asked, looking at the younger man.

"I'll do it," Jake repeated, "You have the right equipment, the knowledge and experience, all you need is the blood. Use mine." He looked at them right in the eyes, his mind was made up, and he wasn't moving from it.

Ms Smith looked at the young stubborn man in surprise, and yet impressed by his bravery to do such a thing, before a thread of doubt weaved itself into her mind. "Honey, this sort of thing is-"

Jake cut her off again, feeling a little sorry for her worries. "I'll be fine, but he wont if he doesn't get that transfusion. Like you said, we don't have time, I don't have time, and if you don't help me, then I'll do it myself. I've already made my choice." Staring at the couple in the room, Jake made a point to them that he wasn't changing his mind. Rolling up his left sleeve, and digging through Ms Smith's medical bag for the right things, not too sure on what he was looking for, but having a feeling that they'd help him if he went for it himself, because really, the option of trying to stop him was out of the question.

Ms Smith moved around the sofa and sat next to Jake, placing her hand on his arm and stilling his movements, causing the younger man to look at her. "You young, stubborn fool," She huffed, nodding her head. "All right, I'll help you." Taking the bag out of Jakes hands, she took out the right things that she would need.

Jake nodded at her, silently grateful, his eyes trailed to the agent on the sofa as his jumbled thoughts caught up to him whilst Ms Smith worked. He couldn't help but wonder why he'd made that choice, it seemed his actions were separated from his mind lately, causing him to do things he wouldn't normally even think about. Life is now seemingly set on betraying him. He wasn't the man he'd set himself out to become any more.

Ben stood up and moved to one of the single couch chairs in the room, then proceeded to drag it to where Jake was kneeling next to the sofa. The next few hours were going to be long, and with the nights processing events, he was going to make sure everyone was comfortable, his concerns pointed at the man who so stubbornly refused to move. "Here, lad. Sit in this, your in for a long night." Ben said, dragging the chair close to the sofa and next to the agents side.

Accepting the seat, Jake sat down and got comfortable. It was one of those chairs that had a lever on the side that pulled the back down and the front forward, creating something close to resembling a bed. "So how long will this take?" He asked, feeling a small sting in his arm as Ms Smith started the transfusion.

"A few." Was all she said, proceeding with her work, before adding, "But you are not moving from that chair, so get comfortable and try and get some sleep, you will need it after the transfusion. So no more arguing, don't make me drug you." She said the last part and looked at the younger man in the eyes, her tone like that of a mother giving instructions to a child to behave.

"Huh." Jake gave a small smile, before waving off the warning with his free right hand. "This is your house, Ms Smith. Your rules." He added, knowing the side of him that hasn't changed, was never really good at following rules by anyone, and recently, not even his own.

Ms Smiths sharp eyes analysed him for a moment longer, having finished with her work, before accepting his answer. "Good, now let me see you shoulder, then I'll let you sleep." She said at him, not missing the look of 'Shit, she knows' cross the man's face.

Jake signed, he had hid the injury before he got there hoping it wouldn't be a distraction to the situation. It was just a graze, something he could have dealt with by himself, but it seems Ms Smith had x-ray injury vision, he noted with tired amusement, nodding and letting her see to his wound.

Things settled down soon and now it was the start of a new dawn, Jake was finally left alone and left with his thoughts, his mind was clouded by questions, confusion, anger and worry. Even if they did have a lead now, that lead seemed to have both a good and bad effect, and in more ways than one. But as Jake watched the agent across from him, he couldn't help but feel like the good outweighed the bad, and that as soon as _they_ were able, he'd give the people who are the cause of all this a good kick in the teeth, and he'd make sure the dentist will be booked out from here onwards.

~{{Page Break}}~

_"Raccoon City Incident..."_

_"She's more than just a friend, isn't she? You have feelings for her."_

_"A Witness? She's the one who did all this!"_

_"Leave her out of this, she's an innocent."_

_"If you don't try to save one life, you'll never save any."_

_"In the end, nothing's really changed."_

_"Work for us..."_

He felt like he was drowning again, and damn it, he hated it. Was it so bad to ask for a normal life? Apparently, because life as it was seemed to intentionally piss him off, and laugh in his face. He'd wish he could wipe the smile of its face, but punching at air would only worsen his situation and call in the white suits, and being crazy, he deemed was far from normal.

Among many things Leon noticed upon waking was the tired ache in his limbs, that seemed to spot in his human radar on his left leg. The other, more reassuring one was the comfort of laying on something soft, and the feeling of being warm, not hot, not cold, but lovingly warm.

His memory was foggy, mind was working at a snails pace as he lay there, before his hearing decided to join the picture. He could hear someone humming, a woman, then there was the sound of paper on paper in another direction, and after a short moment, he picked up breathing coming from his right. The ability to move seemed to come after, then his memory.

He opened his eyes, which was easier said than done, they felt glued together. When he did have his sight, he found himself staring at a unfamiliar ceiling, his mind identifying the colour to be a light blue, and not the cream coffee colour of his home.

"You awake there, hero?"

Leon blinked, before looking to his right and weary eyes focused on the source of the breathing he'd heard before. Jake sat up in the chair after placing his gun down from cleaning it, a hint of a smile was on his face. He too looked a little worn out, and pale, he had also changed into a black T-shirt and blue jeans, their was a hint of bandages under the fabric of his right shoulder, including a thin wrap around his left for-arm. Something Leon guessed was from the roof top sniper that tried to take them out, maybe even shrapnel wounds from the explosion that the ex-mercenary had caused for a diversion. He was about to ask, his throat short of restricting any form of speech when his questions were cut short.

"Here," Ms Smith walked over, hearing that her patient had woken. She knelt down on the other side of the sofa with a glass of water. "Just some water, honey, It will help your sore throat." She looked to Jake, who understood the silent question. He helped elevate the agents head so he wouldn't choke on the water, making things easier.

After the small task, Ms Smith walked back into the kitchen where Ben was partly watching whilst reading the news paper. Jake sat back into his chair, looking at the agent who seemed to be trying to wake up more, rubbing at the bridge of his nose. There was silence for few long seconds, all the while Jake didn't quite know what to do, it seemed that the older man would be on his way to recovery, but he didn't know how much time that would take, time that they didn't have.

Leon looked over, feeling eyes staring at him, unreadable eyes, and as an agent, that always bugged him. He could never seem to read what the other man was thinking, and the few times that he could, they were not always understandable. "How long have I been out?" He asked, sounding like he had a hang over.

Jake looked at him a second longer before responding. "Nearly a day, its now late-afternoon, I brought you here late last night."

Leon nodded, the movement small, eyes again catching the bandage on the younger man's shoulder. "You didn't tell me you were hit."

Jake shrugged. "Just a scratch. It's nothing." He said, before continuing the check his weapon, and proceeding to clean it.

Leon continued to look at him, "Yeah?" He asked, narrowing his eyes, "What about that one?" Nodding to the bandage on the other man's arm. He watched as Jake paused in what he was doing, hands stilling, eyes avoiding contact with the other. Something's up, and this time, he wanted his answer. When the man didn't answer to his mental count down, Leon moved to push himself up, and got to the point of resting on his elbows before he found hands suddenly on his shoulders, and pushing him firmly back down.

"I wouldn't do that." Jake said, giving the agent a warning look, one that clearly read 'Don't even move'. "You lost a lot of blood. Your not even going to twitch until Ms Smith says so." He gave the agent a hard look.

Although he wanted to press, Leon took one look at that face and again knew it'd be better to follow his instructions, and settled himself back down on the sofa, but he'd be damned if he wasn't going to get his answer.

"What happened to your arm." He demanded, he knew the ex-mercenary was hiding something.

Jake looked away again, busying himself with what he was doing before. "Nothing."

Leon glared, "Bullshit."

Angela and Ben looked over from the kitchen, hearing the conversation and knowing where it would be going. It wasn't something light to talk about, and it was clear to them that the two hadn't known each other for long, nor did they seem to be working for the same Government. Ben could recognise his own line of work like the front cover of a book, and it was clear that these two were employed by different authors.

Leon was tired and sore, what ever was in his system was starting to wear off due the the fact that the throbbing in his leg was growing, and he was in no mood for skipping questions. His memory of the previous night was foggy, but he knew something had happened, and concerning him Leon wanted to know. The answer he wanted was just a matter of asking the right question. "What did you do?"

When Jake looked at him, he could see the tiredness in his eyes, the change, and the question he asked; Jake seemed to be asking himself. The answer, Jake glanced down at the agents arm, who followed his gaze and found something he didn't notice before. A small white bandage was wrapped, in the same fashion and spot as the one on Jake's arm.

Leon looked at it, fingers grazing the fabric in confusion, a small detail he didn't remember or notice happening before. His mind was trying to piece things together, but ended up with nothing. He looked at the younger man in question. "Jake?" His tone didn't have the hard edge it did before, he wasn't demanding any more.

The room was silent for a moment, before Jake finally spoke up. "You lost too much blood, and needed a transfusion."

Leon nodded in understanding, yeah, that sounded possible... His eyes then turned back to the ex-mercenary in realisation. "You did it?"

Jake was again silent, before simply nodding. Yes.

That was something that he wasn't expecting, not at all. Leon was at a loss for words. He and Jake weren't exactly on the friendliest terms when they met, or even now, the only thing keeping them under the same roof was their relations to Sherry. So the fact that Jake did something so.. out of character, for a Government agent no less, giving blood willingly, that wasn't easy for the ex-mercenary. And Leon could see it, looking at the young man, who's face was set to a careless expression, but his eyes gave him away. "Why..?" Leon asked, too tired and confused to try and work out what the younger man was thinking.

It was a few more moments before Jake replied. "We couldn't get you to a hospital, too dangerous. That, and Ms Smith doesn't keep blood in her fridge, unless she's some kind of secret vampire." Jake shrugged. "Couldn't let you bleed out either. I saw an option, so I took it."

Leon was quiet for a long time, the seconds ticking to minutes, the silence of time. He hadn't moved from his position, couldn't even if he wanted to, and neither did Jake. "Are you aware of what you've done?" Leon asked the younger man, holding eye contact. "Do you know what this m-"

"Yeah-" Jake cut him off. -"I know what it means. Just... consider it a free vaccine." Standing up, Jake holstered his weapon, placing the cloth in his pocket and avoiding the eyes of the rooms occupants. "You should get some sleep." He muttered before heading for the door, nodding at Ms Smith as he left. Where he went, the others did not know.

Anything that Leon might have said was lost as the door closed, leaving the room again in that silence that lurked everywhere he went, but like the calm before the storm, it did not last. Not in his mind anyway, and now he was left to the thoughts of one ex-mercenaries actions. _'consider it a free vaccine.'_ The man's words crossed his mind again, over and over. Not only did the transfusion save his life, but...

Now he was immune to the C-Virus.

_**End of Chapter 7.**_

_**And because I feel terrible for the long wait, I'm going to add a preview for you freaky darlings. This preview doesn't happen in the story for a while yet, but.. yeah. Note: This preview might change by the time I get to the chapter, so some things here might not happen, or more things might be added on. Let me know what ya'll think. **_

_**Enjoy! **_

CHAPTER: UNKNOWN.

_Preview..._

"Jake?" Leon's concerned tone got no response from the younger man, alarming him, he didn't have a lot of time to get them out of here, sooner or later his cover would be blown. He tried again, shaking the man's shoulder. "Jake?" He risked the volume of his voice, raising it a little, hoping it would bring the other around, and the agent could have smiled with relief when the ex-mercenary stirred, eyes blinking into focus. "C'mon, look at me." Leon reached out with his hand to the others face, lifting his focusing tired gaze to his own, nodding when he saw recognition flash in the silver/blue orbs.

"...Hey hero?" Jake mumbled, looking tiredly at the older man in question, wondering if he was really there or if the drug in his system was playing tricks on him again.

Leon took note of the look, this time placing his other hand on the ex-mercenaries shoulder. "Yeah. I'm here." He said to reassure the younger man. His concentration then shifted from his gaze to the rest of him, taking note of all the obvious injuries, a quick sweep of Jake's condition, what he found did not make him happy. The man's shirt was in shreds, visible cuts decorated the younger man's torso which was coloured in black and blue bruises, also a alarming shade of green. Small, strange burns dotted his chest, the pattern one that the agent was unable to identify, but Leon knew this situation when he saw one, and it was plain obvious the ex-mercenary had been tortured. Something that filled the agent with rage. He looked back up into the other's eyes, seeing the fogginess that still lingered, and something in the agent warned him that it wasn't due to waking up, no, it was something else. "I'm going to get you out of here." He said as he started analysing the bonds that kept the ex-mercenary to the chair.

"What about Demarko..?" Jake asked, his senses coming back slowly but surly, along with the ache and pain, he bit his lip, wincing slightly.

Leon held his anger in check, but not much of it. "Don't worry, I'm going to make sure he's the one to go down next." He sounded as angry as he felt, resisting the urge to punch something that wasn't Jake, he focused on the task at hand, which he soon realised that was going to be a set back, making him want to _really_ hit something. The bonds holding Jake to the chair were hard steel shackles, locked with a key. Something he didn't happen to have at that point. Of course, no one uses rope any more these days, and by the looks of these bonds, he wont be able to pick at them with his knife. dammit. "Shit."

"Yeah." Jake huffed dryly, giving his arms a pointless pull, hoping that by some fluke he'd break them free. With no such luck. "Look.." Jake started, still not quite awake, but enough to know the agent was on a time line, he'd been here too long already. "You need to go." He said, trying to catch the other's eyes.

"Uhuh." Leon ignored him as he continued with the locks, mind working on over drive to find out just how he was going the get this done, very aware of the time that was passing.

Jake was getting very edgy, a voice in the back of his mind warning him, of what, he didn't know, but he didn't want the older man around to find out. "Leave me here, go." He pressed, shaking his shoulder free of the others grasp. That got the agents attention.

Angry blue eyes found the ex-mercenaries. "No, your coming with me." Leon said tensely, shaking his head.

Jake glared right back. "The longer you stay here the less help you'll be. Go!" He hissed.

Leon returned the glare with equal force, grasping the younger man's shoulder again firmly and being mindful of his injuries. "I'm not leaving, not without you." He stated, his decision was made the moment he stepped into the room. They stared at each other for a moment, the atmosphere was tense, and in moments, from bad to worse.

"No, your not."

_**So... Yay or nay? :D **_

_**chapter 8 will be up within a few days. So, who's Demarko? That's for me to know and you to find out! Mwah!**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**Here we go my freaky darlings! Chapter 8 is up. Again sorry for any spelling errors.**_

_**Enjoy!**_

**CHAPTER: 8**

_Demarko Alrichkov_

"So, you know this guy?" Leon asked. It was the morning of the next day, after Angela Smith had checked his wound and progress, he was allowed to sit up on the side of the sofa, but walking without help at this point was a boundary that Angela made it clear he wasn't going to cross. He was currently nursing a glass of orange juice in his hands, simply because the fact that he wasn't allowed coffee, something he regrettably resigned to. He was watching Jake pacing the small area of the living room with envy whilst Angela had made it her job to stitch the items of clothes that needed mending due to being torn by bullets, and Ben was listening in intently to their conversation, sitting on one of the lounges that lined the room.

Jake continued to furiously pace, his anger transparent to the occupants in the room. "Yeah, I know him." He said bitterly, wishing that phrase would turn to 'I _knew_ him', but it turns out the bastard was still alive.

"And you think he's the one behind this?" Watching Jake was starting to make Leon dizzy, causing the agent to wonder if it was actually possible to wear a hole in the ground by mindless walking. Looking at the younger man, Leon knew that the man wasn't just angry, it was something like his own reaction when he faced Jake Krauser back in Spain after 2 years of being confirmed dead. No, one wouldn't be just angry at the reappearance of a friend- turned enemy, but it seemed to Jake- enemy to enemy.

"I dont think, I _know_." Jake said, pausing for a record timing of a second before continuing. "The bastard's a snitch, a killer, and a damn good one. If anyone was capable and sick of pulling this off, its him."

"Tell me about him." Leon said, eyes fixed on the man walking back and forth, he added, "And sit down, damn it. Your making me dizzy." He said, looking at Angela who also nodded. Ben remained silent.

Jake signed, forcing himself to stop and sitting down, rubbing at his head tiredly. "Demarko Alrichkov," He began, tensely. "Met him back under the employ of Edonian rebel forces. The best but not the brightest, got himself a dishonorable discharge from the Russian Secret Service a number of years back, something about unsanctioned hits and miss treatment of prisoners. Was believed to be dead about 2 years ago when a building was rigged with explosives."

Leon had his fair share of people coming back from the dead, and more than once, so this didn't surprise him in the slightest. But really, people should try a new trick, because that one was old. Coming back from the dead? Really? That hasn't happened before... "You _know_ him." Leon pressed, eyes boring into the other.

Jake looked as intently back, "Yeah." He nodded, "And he's bad news, hero. Even Simmons' name would have been a lot more cheery than this jackass." He paused, mind working as memory's surfaced. "What I learnt from him back in Edonia... He has no care for life, no purpose in his actions, unless its to cause chaos, and pain. He's the guy who would sit back and laugh whilst the world burned."

Leon sat back quietly, placing the half empty glass on the table next to him. The room was again silent as he sat there, thinking, mind working over their situation.

Angela paused briefly in her stitching, looking at the two younger men then to her husband. They both knew the conversation was somewhat classified to their ears, but It seemed that the information that was passing in the open seemed not to concern the agent who was thinking. They weren't part of this operation that was stepping up, but had assigned themselves to the recovery part, something they knew happened the moment the two men walked into their apartment the other night, injured.

Leon wanted to ask where Jake had been prior their discussion the previous day when he found out what the younger man had done, part of him wanting to thank Jake for it, the other part of him though, wasn't sure. When Leon woke up at early dawn this morning, even though all the sleep he'd had it still felt like it been months without rest, again this time he had to remind himself as to why he woke up in the Smiths apartment. Angela had been there beside him, administering another pain killer in his system before informing him that Jake had come by a few short hours ago, leaving some things before disappearing again for a short moment.

As Leon watched him, all thoughts on yesterday were forgotten. The Ex-mercenary was troubled, anxious, angry, stressed and was that worry behind it all? All for one name, Demarko, and Leon wanted to know why this had the stoic professional at such a level of unease, and not just for the investigation, but for Jake.

"Demarko Alrichkov..." Leon let the name role, mentally processing each syllable, sound, even the personality of the name, its ring. Demarko... Demarko... He paused, looking up at Jake, who too looked up as if on que. "Demarko. Marco... Polo."

Jake could have sworn. Of course, the line of code that he heard a few times in his years under the Edonian employ, a line used by non other that Demarko. "It was him on the phone." Jake spoke up in realisation, remembering the events that transpired at the Dee's house, the caller on the phone, the suspect of attack.

Leon nodded, parts of the puzzle coming to fit. "Yeah. But is he the master mind behind all this?"

Jake didn't hesitate. "I'd bet my next pay day on it. Demarko doesn't answer to anyone, he's a man who craves control." The ex-mercenary stood up again, despite the tired looks that the others gave him in the room, Jake started to pace again. "What I want to know is, how the hell does he know you?" He directed his gaze to the agent in question.

Leon shook his head, bringing up a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose tiredly. "I don't know." He muttered, now that they have the 'who' part to this investigation, what was left and vital was the 'why'.

"What did he say to you?" Jake asked, his tone underlined with anger, wanting to know why Demarko was so interested in Leon.

"Not much." Leon replied, not missing the other mans fury. "Only that he knows me, that Steve Jension is really dead, and, well, you know the rest." Eyeing the younger man as he started pacing again, Leon felt the urge to reassure the ex-mercenary, but didn't come up with much. "If you know this guy, then that give us a hand, we can track him down, predict his moves." Leon started, not really sure if it was helping the stressed angry man, but a plan forming non the less. Its about time they had something to follow, and it was easier to follow someone you know rather than a crazed sycopath who've you've never heard of before. "You being here, Jake, I think is the key. You can help me bring this man down, so now that Demarko is the one running the show, a man that your familure with." Pausing, Leon didn't take his eyes of the younger man. "I'd say that officialy makes us partners."

Jake paused, looking at the agent in mild surprise, not knowing what to think of the statement. Though it was true, they are in this together now. The ex-mercenary stood still for a moment, eying the agent with a calculating look. "Whats the fine print?" Jake asked suspisously, knowing better now to know all the details before agreeing to anything.

While Leon's expression didn't change from its seriousness, one could see the spark light up in his eyes, that of a rookie police officer. "What fine print?" He asked simply.

Jake was stuck for a moment, when his face suddenly broke into a lopsided smirk. "Off the books? Your on, hero."

Leon too smirked, finishing the glass of juice, all the while keeping eye contact with the younger man, taking his time, and after placing the now empty glass on the side table, which Ms Smith proceeded to take and walked into the kitchen, followed by Ben, Leon stated the terms. "The Government still don't know your here, or of your involvement with this investigation, and its going to stay that way. As for the job, when it's been completed, you'll get your cut from my pay. Seeing as the Government don't know about you being here, which also means we'll need to be carefull. no slipping up."

Jake sat down, listening. "Do they still keep tabs on you?" He asked dryly, with faint annoyance.

Leon shook his head. "Not like they used to, but I'd still be carefull if I were you."

The younger man shrugged, brushing aside the others works with a care free demeanor. "Take your own advice." Jake said, eyeing the other with seriousness, before redirecting the conversation. "And my cut?"

"Well, I think 50-50 would satisfy, don't you?" Leon said, before adding with a smirk. "Depends on your behaviour."

"Huh." Jake frowned. "What ever."

Leon narrowed his eyes at the younger man. "This is my operation, my rules." He stated firmly, yet his eyes still had that light edge, adding, "Say it."

Jake looked at the agent, straight face, quiet for a moment, before giving in. "Your rules." He said, dead panned and innocently.

"~=[Page-Break]=~"

"Theirs something your not telling me." Leon said to Jake, his voice quiet.

Jake thought for a moment, considering whether or not he wanted to speak his thoughts to the agent, when the more reasonable side of him won over. "He'd set himself out to kill me, Demarko," He shrugged, a dry laugh passed his lips, "I was a rival, my rep was threatening his own, I got more calls for employment, more money. Something he wanted to get back." Jake made a movement with his hand, pointing at the scar marking the left side of his face. "He nearly succeeded, gave me a parting gift before he left for the money that got him killed." He paused, "Well, thats what It looked like."

Leon signed, looking away briefly. "Damn it. I was worried you were gonna say that."

Jake frowned. "How so?"

Looking back at the ex-mercenary, Leon spoke of his thoughts. "Well, If he could see me in the window that day, then Demarko would have surly seen you too. If what you say goes deep, then I fear he'll come after you now."

Jake paused, seeing the truth in the statement, but not that it worried him, If anything, he wanted the man to come after him.

"Stop." Leon suddenly said, shooting the younger man a look. "I know that look, and although it might come handy later, but not now. We still don't know what he wants."

Smirking, Jake looked at the agent, surprised that the man could tell what he was thinking, which hadn't worked before. Jake was gonna say something, when he stopped.

Leon was standing up, hand clasped on the side of the couch to steady himself as he put all his weight on his good leg, despite the effort being painful anyway, the wince on his face showing no doubt. He shuffled forward carefully and too his annoyance, he was only a step away from the couch when a body was suddenly in front of him, stopping his movements, hands were on his shoulders.

"The fuck are you doing?" Jake said, having read the older mans face clearly before the agent proceeded with the thought of walking, or what ever he intended to achieve. "Arse. Couch. _Now_." Jake demanded, gently but forcing the man back where he came from, earning an annoyed tired look from the other when he couldn't fight back.

"We can't site around, Jake, this is serious." Leon muttered, his limbs aching and straining from the small attempt of getting up.

When Jake had the man laying down again, he took a seat next to the agent. "Yeah, I agree. But your in no condition to fight right now, so until you can fight me back, your not moving." He paused, poking the man in the shoulder randomly. "What the hell were you gonna do anyway? Charge to battle in a wheel chair... hah, maybe arm the thing with a fifty cal? Coz' that wouldn't look weird-"

Leon glared, but the smirk showed through anyway. "Fuck you." He said good naturally.

"Arse." Jake shot back.

"Bastard." Leon muttered, closing his eyes and settling back into the pillows.

"Boys! No fighting!"

Leon and Jake looked at each other sheepishly when Ms Smith walked in, a scowl on her features, arms crossed.

"He started it." Jake said absently, completely missing the look both Leon and Ms Smith gave him.

Angela stood there in her usual attire, putting the tea towel in the pocket of her apron as she eyed both men. "I don't care who started it, I'll finish it." She said seriously, before her face changed to a pleasant one, if not a little confused. "How you two got together is beyond me." She muttered.

"We're not-" Leon began about the same time Jake started, "He isn't-", only to be cut of by Ms Smith.

"But love works is mysterious ways, that's how I met Ben." Angela continued, ignoring them. "That's all okay here, so long as there is no making out on the couch." She pointed at the both of them with one hand on her hip.

Leon brought a hand to his head, signing. However long it would take for him to walk around again without getting lectured, this was going to be a long week. Looking at Jake as the younger man made it clear that he wasn't going to be leaving this couch, Leon couldn't help but feel something had changed between them. He wasn't sure whether it was what had happened in the past week, or if it was the blood transfusion, they went from hostile to acquaintances to men who were bickering like brothers, or on Ms Smiths opinion, like a couple.

Because looking at the younger man now, things were indeed different, and Leon wasn't sure whether or not that was a good thing.

**_That's it! Anyways, Not sure how long the next chapter will take, I haven't written anything or any plans for it yet, so... thoughts? Anyone? I thought in this chapter that Leon and Jake would start to get along, and that the blood thing will unknowingly to them make them brothers, in a way. Also, this isn't a slash fic, don't panic, its just I thought it would be funny if Ms Smith always thought otherwise, she cares for Leon like a mother would, worried about him always being lonely. Right, enough of my rambling. Thoughts on up coming chapters? _**

**_R&R_**


	9. Chapter 9

_**Sweet baby Jesus, this one is so long! I was stuck for chapter 9, so I re-read chapter 1, then I realised i'd missed something, I was like 'Aw Hell!' But luckily there was enough time to add this in. Remember Hunnigan's email about the White House **_**_meeting? Well, here it is. I had a little of fun writing Jake in this one, I mean really, who would't ;D But thats beside the point, he goes all Agent in this chapter, I kinda think he'd look wicked in a all black suit. Anyways, enjoy my freaky darlings!_**

**CHAPTER 9**

_Meeting at the White House_

"Forget about it, hero. Your not going."

"Jake, I can't miss this meeting. I've been ordered to make an appearance by the President, this is serious."

"Well the President can take his meeting and shove it up his a-"

"-He signs my pay check. So if you don't help me out here, your not getting your cut."

Jake paused at that, thinking for a moment as he eyed the older man sitting on the bed. Clothes were hanging around everywhere, draws were open, various items were knocked over, frustration was evident, all and all, Leon's usually tidy apartment was looking a little on the rough side, and the cause of this was the man in question, struggling to get his Government suit on. The white shirt was hastily buttoned up, the black tie hung around the older mans neck, having not been tied up yet, though all that was considered the easy part. The other part, was getting the black dress pants on, and Leon was having painful difficulties with getting his injured leg thought the expensive material.

The fact that the older man couldn't even dress without pain was the reason why Jake was hesitant on them going to this meeting, because it was _them_, and not just Leon. Though the fact that Jake won't get his cut had him thinking again, despite his main concern being the agents health. "You can hardly even walk, so how are you going to go to the meeting?" Jake reasoned as he walked over to the struggling man, not making any move to help.

Leon winced when he managed to get his leg through, "I'll figure that out when I get there." He said breathlessly as he again struggled to pull the material up. "In the mean time, you can't go looking like a biker. there is a spare suit in the closet. Get changed." Leon ordered, finally succeeding in pulling the dress pants up properly, tucking the white shirt in then hooking and closing the belt, before he lent down carefully to put his shoes on, already polished.

"But they aren't supposed to know I'm here." Jake said as he walked over the where the older man said, already seeing the spare items due to the closet door already being open, with a sigh, he pulled them out, looking at them with a annoyed expression.

"About 95% of the people in the building won't know your face, or if you even exist. The other 5% will be in the meeting room, of which you won't be accompanying me." Leon looked at the man, seeing the pause. "It won't bite you, Jake. Surly you know how to put on a suit?" Leon said with a smirk, seeing the younger man glare at him.

"Huh." Jake growled, but proceeded, placing the clothing down on the side of the bed next to Leon, before he started to take his shirt off, picking up the black shirt that came with the suit, surprised that it wasn't white like the agents, but he didn't complain. White wasn't really his style. "So what will I be doing?"

"Nothing." Leon said, because really, he knew that trying to convince Jake to stay was out of the question, the younger man was stubborn. Looking around, Leon spotted his jacket on the table, wondering why he insisted on putting it there out of his reach, knowing that he'd have to get up and get it, he didn't want to prove Jake's point that he shouldn't be walking. Taking a moment to think, he sighed, slowing standing up and putting his weight on his good leg, before taking a step forward. To his surprise, he didn't stumble like he thought he would, only managing to limp heavily as he covered the short distance, feeling pride in himself when he reached his goal with no problems.

Picking up the black suit jacket, which had blue satin lined on the inside, Leon shrugged it on, glancing at his watch as he did so. 6:45am. "Shit. We need to hurry." He said, turning around and to his surprise Jake had changed almost completely, black dress pants were bordering on just a little short on the taller man, but it wasn't that obvious. Leon caught sight of a nasty scar that marked the younger mans lower back before Jake tossed the shirt on and started buttoning up the black material. "Tuck your shirt in, you'll look like the ugly duckling if you leave it out like that." Leon said, somewhat scolding.

Jake turned around, looking every bit annoyed as he did what the older man instructed. To his dismay, if Jake needed to blend in and become unrecognisable at passing glance, then he would need to listen to what the Government agent was saying. "This is horse shit." The ex-mercenary remarked.

Leon limped painfully over, seeing a look pass the younger mans face as he did so. "Maybe, but its important horse shit. I can't miss this meeting, Jake." Leon reasoned, taking the other jacked and giving it to the younger man then proceeded to mess with his tie, taking note that Jake had discarded his own. "No tie?" Leon asked, skillful fingers tieing his in a neat knot, pulling up at the collar before re-arranging it down again.

"Do I look like I do ties, hero?" Jake grumbled, shooting the older man a look as he adjusted his suit jacket, taking a note to unbutton the fist few on his shirt, that action making him feel better. "I still don't think you should do this." Jake said seriously, eyeing the older mans posture, seeing the carefully schooled features, but the pain was still evident. "It's only been two days."

Leon signed again, seeing that persistent stubborn look in the ex-mercenaries eyes. "It's not that I want to do this, it's that I _have_ to. I'v been given an order, Jake, not a request."

Jake didn't really want to agree with what the older man said, but the life the agent was living was one he probably would never understand, someone like him with such a background, Wesker being his father, and also that Jake couldn't exactly follow orders. Jake's jaw tightened, not liking the idea at all. "So, the White house then? I'm driving." He added, the last making him feel like he had some control over the situation.

Leon nodded quietly, seeing that Jake needed to do something. This was going to be interesting.

{{Page Break}}

They were late, and Leon cursed when they pulled up in front of the white house after getting through the gate, there were security checkpoints they still needed to get through, and the agent hoped that they'd make it past the front desk without any questions. Jake turned the ignition off and stepped out immediately, trying to put up his best 'Jame's Bond' look, and he did look a sight to those who might have been looking in. The black suit fitted well, snug across broad shoulders, the black shirt, first two buttons undone, along with the equally dark shades over his eyes made him intimidating, if he wasn't enough already.

Jake looked around at his surroundings, resisting the urge to whistle, which would have been very un-agent like of him, and instead focused on Leon as he stepped out of the car, the man looked every inch of the United States Governments best agent, aside from the heavy limp he sported. Leon had shades similar to Jake's, hiding his blue gaze, the white of his under shirt contrasting with the black tie and suit, and when ever he walked, or limped in Jake's opinion, one could see the inner blue lining of the jacket.

Jake noticed the older man swallow and looked in the same direction, seeing what had the agent at unease. Right, of course the White House has a flight of stairs up to the front doors, and looking back at the other, Jake knew that such stairs would be a challenge for the injured man. "C'mon, hero. We're late." Jake said, seeing the glare shot his way again, which the ex-mercenary ignored, proceeding to walk close to the agent should he stumble or need help as they began walking up the stairs.

"You know the drill, Jake. Follow my lead." Leon demanded quietly as they continued, mentally cringing with each careful step he took that sent pain shooting up his leg.

"I won't be following all of it." Jake growled back, keeping his voice down as he could see the agent struggle up the stairs, but the man refused any help.

When they got past the first checkpoint behind the doors, all Leon needed to do was flash his badge at the men there, before they allowed him to pass. They've all heard of Agent Kennedy, so they didn't ask any questions about Jake's presence, to Leon's relief, and they didn't ask about why he was limping. When they got to the desk on the first level, the woman there looked up from her computer, recognising the agent immediately. "Special Agent Kennedy, they're expecting you. Operations room 12, second floor."

By the time they were standing outside two double wooden doors, the dark brown standing out in the hall way, Leon resisted the urge to lean heavily on either Jake or the wall, his leg was throbbing painfully with the flight here, and he hoped there were chairs in that room. "This is as far as you go." Leon said quietly, knowing that those doors were sound proof but keeping quiet non the less.

Jake signed. "What do I do?" He asked, keeping his voice low too, looking down the hall then back at the older man.

"Wait for me, hopefully this won't take long. Don't do anything stupid." Leon replied, not liking the idea either. Leon turned and faced the door, mentally cursing before masking his face and trying to hide his discomfort. Not waiting for Jake to answer, Leon lightly knocked twice before he placed a hand on the steel handle, turning the contraption and pulled the door towards him, stepping in the small space he allowed for only himself and entering the room.

The eyeless hallway was nothing compared until when he closed the door behind him, and Leon felt many pairs of eyes drawn to him.

"Agent Kennedy. Glad you could join us."

Leon looked across the suddenly quiet room from where he stood at the door, carefully keeping his face blank as he made eye contact with the new President Anderson, and mentally swallowed at the disapproving look that the older man discretely shot at him. Leon kept his back straight and his demeanor professional, clearing his throat slightly. "Mr President. I apologise for my interruption."

President Anderson looked at the agent from where he sat at the head of the table, which was occupied by 5 others who were seated. The room was dimly lit aside from the light coming from the 3D hologram in the middle of the table, which pictured the faces of all the victims in the last few weeks, information on the investigation. "I'll assume it's because you have something to add to this investigation." The President said, setting down his pen, making a movement with his hand. "So by all means, take a seat."

Leon knew this wasn't a good start, and he forced himself not to hesitate in moving over to the last remaining seat, the sound of his uneven steps breaking the otherwise eery quietness of the room, and he resisted the cringe that wanted to creep over his features. As he walked, limped, over to the chair, he took in account of who was in the room. Three of them he recognised, Chris Redfield was seated next to the President and along side the BSAA man was Jill Valentine. Across from them was Ingrid Hunnigan, and seated beside her were two men that Leon didn't recognise.

When Leon reached the empty chair, Jill seated beside it stood up, pulling the chair out for him and he gave her a grateful nod, whispering a quiet "Thanks." before sitting down painfully, giving a mute sigh when the pressure was relieved from his leg. After both he and Jill were settled again, the President continued.

"As I was saying, we might need to give the face of our suspect to the media. If we can have the whole country on the look out, I believe that we'll uncover the lost data immediately." The President said, pressing a few buttons on the in-built keyboard in the table, and bringing up a profiled sketch of the man described to them as the killer of the weeks recent victims.

"I disagree." Leon spoke up, drawing all eyes to him, some were waiting to hear what he had to say, Hunnigan looked at him in understanding, and Anderson looked taken back by the agents charge. "Sir. I'm under the impression that our killer isn't the one behind the theft of the data. Just a player." Leon spoke with a determined voice, choosing his words carefully as the President eyed him, the silence for him to continue, and so he did. "Events that have transpired in the past week lead me to believe that this isn't the act of one man, but of an organised group who'd been planning their steps carefully. While Benjamin hacked into E'World, he did it under protecting his family, and saying that, any employer at the company wouldn't know how to wirelessly track my movements in a public area using surveillance camera's or mobile phones."

"What do you mean, they're tracking you?" Chris asked, frowning.

Leon nodded, before clarifying his statement. "I came in contact with our suspect a few days ago after I got the email about this crisis. He was standing across the street waiting for me, and it wasn't a chance encounter. He knew when and where I was. A day later I was at Benjamin Dee's house, trying to gather a little more information, when the phone rang, the caller asking to speak with me."

Hunnigan looked at the agent through her glasses, having not known that detail, but then she hadn't had contact with Leon in a few days, where anything could happen. She gathered that much when the older man walked in the room. "What did the suspect say?" She asked, but in a tone where one would have to answer her.

Leon paused, his expression unreadable as he shook his head. "It wasn't our suspect on the phone, but who ever it was knew I was there. However, the man used a line of code, Marco and Polo." Leon left out the mans name, as for why, he didn't know, but something in him said not to mention it just yet.

"I've heard of that." All eyes turned to Jill in surprise, and she looked slightly taken back by all the stares. "It's a line that the Russian Secret Service use when doing undercover operations."

Chris too looked at her. "How do you even know that?" He asked in bewilderment.

Jill tugged at her jacket, unconsciously pulling it so that the material was proffesional. "I have my ways." She said lightly, seeing the smile that Chris gave her at her innocent words.

The President cleared his throat, silencing the others and drawing their attention. "If what you say is true, Agent Kennedy. Then what about the data? Who has it?"

Leon shook his head slightly. "I don't know, but I think we're focusing on the wrong thing here. Todays mobile phone registers your location every few seconds, but hacking into the system network requires skill, time, and resources. Our terrorist group have more than just the missing data, and its not the fact that they have it that should be concerning us, or even reclaiming it. It's the _how_. If we somehow manage to get back the data that was stolen, the terrorists will just take it back again." Leon argued, his point now clear across the room.

"Then how are they getting it? Through Benjamin?"

Leon shook his head at Chris, then eyed each person in the room. "Not through Benjamin." He said, and after a pause. "Through the Government."

"That's impossible." One of the two agents sitting next to Hunnigan scoffed.

"Is it?" Leon challenged, eyeing the man. "Then what about Derrek C Simmons, the National Security Advisor and his actions that killed the former President a few months ago? The cause of the outbreak in Tall Oaks which further killed over 70,000 people? The kidnapping of Deborah Harper and then framing Helena Harper and myself for his crimes? Perhaps even the Lab under the Cathedral with Simmons' air-loom everywhere? That same Lab where the C-Virus came from?" The man fell silent at his words, but Leon continued. "The planning and research that went behind the attack told us that it had been under our noses for months, dare I say years. 'Impossible' is no longer in the equation. Yet the _how_ is still unknown to us." Leon finished, his words underlined with anger.

"Leon is right." Chris spoke up after the silence. "Too often has one of our own been the cause of Bio-Terrorism, and I'd hate to say it, but I'd need more than one hand to count the names." He said seriously.

"Then we have a mole hunt. What will that gain? It will only cause us to fight amongst ourselves, then the enemy will win." One of the other men seated at the table said.

"That won't happen." The President stated. "This hunt will be off the books, under the line. Our guy must not know we suspect him withing these walls. We won't point fingers, gather any information you believe to be strange, look into internet history and income charts, unauthorised logs and payments. These men must be getting their money and equiptment from somewhere, and no matter how much you erase something, there will always be a paper trial in the network. We will find it." With that, the President stood up, gathering papers and adressing an end to the meeting. "Your dismised." He said, before taking his leave through the doors.

After the President, along with the two other agents and Hunnigan left to room, Leon felt the tension in the air disappear, and he hoped that Jake had the right sence not to be standing outside the door where he would have been spotted. The meeting had gone on longer than what he thought, no doubt the ex-mercenary was going to be annoyed with him later. He was about to attempt at standing up when he paused, feeling eyes on him, and looking to his left, he found that Chris and Jill had yet to leave, something Leon hoped they would do so no one witnessed him limping.

Though the look on Chris' face told him all he needed to know.

"Aside from the circumstances." Jill spoke up, holding a hand out to the agent and smiling. "It's nice to finally meet you in person, Agent Kennedy. I've heard a lot about this seemingly ghost who fights Bio-Terrorism, and has helped in the past."

Leon took the offered hand, smiling in return. "Just Leon, will do fine. And I could say the same for you, Jill Valentine. You were in Raccoon City at the time of the outbreak?" He asked, curious to meet another survivor.

She nodded. "Yeah, although for different reasons. A lot of things have changed since then."

"Not everything." Chris commented, not sure which out weighed the good or the bad. Signing, the BSAA man stood up, along with Jill, and he eyed Leon as the man had yet to move. Because if it were him, he'd want to get out of this building as soon as possible, Chris never really liked Government. "You all right?" He asked, noticing how pale the agent looked. "Why do I get the feeling that you shouldn't have come here..?" Chris continued as he eyed the other man, remembering when the agent came into the room, sporting a heavy limp. Something Chris knew he didn't get from what happened in China.

"I'm fine." Leon tried convincing them, though he knew that there wasn't much point.

"Yeah, that's what they all say." Jill said, too eyeing the Government agent, before pointing at Chris. "It never worked for Chris, and It's not going to work for you." She pointed out, giving the agent a look to say that there was no fooling her, and she smiled in triumph when the man signed in defeat, before the agent gave up on waiting and stood up slowly.

Chris couldn't help but chuckle at that as he moved around Jill, standing next to the agent in case the man stumbled and noticing that Leon had a firm grip on his left thigh. Chris frowned.

"I need to speak to you, Chris. Before you go." Leon spoke up, causing the BSAA man to blink, before Chris slowly nodded hesitantly.

Jill looked at the two silently, they both looked tired, and she knew what Chris had been through in the last number of months, the man hardly slept anymore, and Jill was concerned, since coming back on the radar, Chris hadn't been the same. Too much loss, too much death, and the death of Peirs Nivans had been the one to set Chris on the edge, and Jill knew that should another fall under the grim reapers clutches, would be the final push. Although Jill wanted to help at this moment, she read the silent look on the other agents pale face, and she nodded. "I'll be just outside." She said, drawing their attention, she smiled at them. "Men and their secrecy." With a raise of one eye brow, Jill turned and walked out the room, closing the door behind her.

Leon gave Chris an amused look at that, and the man just shrugged, a smile tugging at his face. "That's Jill for ya. Sometimes I wonder if she'd been a Jedi in her previous life." Chris joked, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. "Hows your partner doing? Helena?" He wondered out loud, remembering her from China.

"She's nearly finished her exams. After whats happened in the past few months, she had to re-sit them, to her annoyance." Leon replied with a small smile. After the whole incident in Tall Oaks, then in China, It was recommended that she needed to be in the right mind before she went back out into the field. Helena was given a few weeks for recovery, then under go some tests, and Leon signed in relief when he found out that she wasn't suffering from PTSD, something he was deeply worried about for a while.

"Yeah. We've all been there." Chris agreed, having gone through those tests more than once, especially after Wesker.

Leon could see the BSAA man become more distant, and he remembered what Claire said in her email. "How you holdin' up?" He asked quietly, eyeing the other, the pain in his leg for a moment forgotten.

Chris was silent for a while, glancing at the agent before he couldn't take the others knowing and concerned gaze any longer. "...I guess I'd be lying if I said I'm fine." Chris finally answered, "Everyone had been asking that lately." He added, slightly annoyed.

"They are concerned for you."

"I don't need it." Chris snapped back unintentionally, before looking away.

Leon smiled. "Now you sound like Helena." His smile widened when Chris shot him a glare, and Leon thought in amusement that if he had a few bucks for every glare that had been aimed at him in the past week, he'd be rich. The smile faded as he eyed the BSAA man. "I'm here if you need to talk, Chris." He said, before adding quietly. "The things we've been through are not all the different. I too have lost..." Leon trailed off, swallowing for a moment. "We can't ever come clean with what has happened, but we can't keep it locked up either."

Chris looked back at the agent, seeing aswell as hearing the truth in the mans words, and Chris couldn't help the guilt that washed over him. "I never pulled the trigger..." He said, seeing a frown creep on the agents face. "Simmons' men shot her before I could do anything, and then she fell.."

Leon was quiet, seeing the guilt on the other mans face, and realised he was talking about Ada. Chris thought she was still dead. Leon knew she wasn't, but he didn't know... Chris wouldn't lie about something like that, wouldn't make a mistake. There was no doubt, Chris witnessed Ada die that day, but Leon was struck in thought, frozen in its question. He knows Ada is still alive... but then _who_ was it that was killed that day..?

"It's not your fault. Chris." Leon said after a moment, realising that the BSAA man took his silence as a bad sign. "You kept you word." Looking into the other mans eyes, Leon could see the acceptance, and at that, he pulled out a piece of folded paper from his inner jacket pocket, looking down at it for a moment before holding it out for the other, now back to business. "I'm going to need your help on this one." Leon stated, maintaining eye contact as the BSAA man hesitantly took the folded note.

"You know more than what you told us, about the investigation. Don't you?" Chris asked, reading the note briefly before pointing Leon with a stare.

"That's classified." Leon joked, seeing the pissed off look on the other's face, and Leon smirked at that, then continued more seriously. "The point is, with the possibility of a guy on the inside, I don't know who to trust. I trust _you_, Chris."

Chris nodded after a moment, pocketing the folded paper. "I'll see what I can find." Chris said, referring to the note.

Leon gave him a grateful tired look. "Thanks." Now that all was done here, Leon took a step forward, but stumbled with a surprised gasp to the side with the wake of the forgotten injury, hands coming to brace himself on the table as he winced. He'd been standing up too long. A weight on his shoulder drew his attention and Leon looked up into Chris' concerned gaze.

"You never really answered my question." Chris said disapprovingly, giving Leon _the_ look.

The agent in question signed, shifting and taking nearly all his weight off his injured leg. "..I got shot two days ago on the investigation." Leon admitted, movement behind Chris drew his attention, and Leon looked as the door opened a little, though he knew who it was.

"How bad?" Chris asked, his back to the door and missing the glare Leon shot at it.

"I needed a blood transfusion."

"What?" Chris said in surprise, frowning down at the agent. "Why aren't you still in hospital?" He demanded, wondering what kind of idiot let the agent leave, because a blood transfusion was no light subject, not on a what looked like a serious gunshot wound.

Leon hesitated. "I.. never went to the hospital." He knew that if Claire was here, she'd be pissed as hell, and he would never hear the end of it. Such as it is, Chris was too a Redfield, and Leon knew that the older man would be equally furious, of not more than his sister. Leon hated it when he was right sometimes.

"The fuck, Kennedy?" Chris was glaring at the younger agent, anger at the others carelessness, because as a caption of his own team, he'd lost men due to their stubbornness on injuries being more serious, or hiding such injuries. Chris' first rule was such, do not hide any injury, no matter how small, and Claire is going to be so pissed. "Your coming with me to the hospital." Chris ordered like he would to a rookie on his team, despite Leon having more clearance that what he did.

"Chris-" Leon started doubtfully, though was cut off.

"Bullshit."

Both the Government agent and the BSAA Captain turned at the voice, one watching in irritation and the other frowning partly in surprise as Jake Muller let himself in, shades off, his glare settled on Chris. "What make's you think he'll do that?" Jake challenged, walking up to the two dressed in the black suit, and Chris' frown deepened at the resemblance to Wesker in the mans posture.

"Jake-" Leon warned, but again was cut off.

"I'm not giving him a choice, a wound like that, he needs a hospital." Chris said stubbornly, not taking his eyes of the ex-mercenaries, and Chris would imagine that if Wesker didn't have the red signature of the Projenitor virus, that the ex-STARS captian would have the same steel eyes as what Jake had. "Who was your mother?" Chris asked gently out of genuine curiosity, though wasn't prapared for the anger that shimmered in the ex-mercenaries eyes.

With his time in the Government and various training meant that Leon was fast. Very fast, despite his injuries. With slight stumbled and limped steps, Leon moved quickly in front of Chris and towards Jake as the ex-mercenary advanced rapidly on the BSAA man, though Leon put up a fight and grasped the younger mans shoulders, pushing him back and to the side. "Hey!" He raised his voice only loud enough so that it wouldn't reach the halls and there for draw any unwanted attention. Jake was still glaring heatedly behind him and Leon pushed back as the younger man tried side stepping the agent. "Jake! This is no place for a brawl!"

Finally Jake turned his attention to the agent, stilling his movements but the tension was still imminent.

Leon let out a frustrated sigh, daring to release his hold on the younger mans shoulders, but keeping his hands aside should the other act. "I don't know what's between you too, but don't settle it now, it is nor the place or the time." Leon said, glaring at Jake.

Jake was silent and fuming, but nodded, looking away from the agents piercing eyes.

Chris hadn't moved either, wondering just how and why Jake was in the white house, and also the fact that the ex-mercenary seemed to know the agent, even if they didn't look like they were on the same page. Chris was about to step forward when the agent stumbled again, but the angry ex-mercenary was closer and bet him to it.

"Though boy scout was right about one thing." Jake growled, taking hold of the agents shoulders in turn and steadying the older man. "I think its time you go to a hospital. You look like shit." This time Jake was the one stopping the agent from fighting or objecting and Jake grasped his arm, leading them from the room. Turning just before he was at the door, Jake eyed Chris with a look. "You and I are not finished." He promised, before he proceeded to help Leon back the way they came.

Chris wanted to follow, but didn't, and instead fumbled with the piece of paper in his pocket, a moment later Jill walked back in.

"Who was that?" She asked with a frown, having seen the other man supporting the agent, cool steel eyes piercing. Though Jill paused, seeing that Chris was in thought, distant like before. "Whats wrong?" she asked in concern, walking up to him and placing a hand on his arm, drawing him back to the present.

Chris signed tiredly, glancing at the door before he looked at Jill. "We're a team right?" He asked quietly, though his face was unreadable.

Jill nodded. "Of course. always have been, always will be."

Accepting her answer with a smile, Chris nodded. "Then we've got some digging to do." Holding out the node, he handed it to Jill. "Lets find out everything we can about this Demarko Alrichkov."

**_Ending for this one was a little lacking, but this chapter was long enough. I'll make up for it in the next one. I have an evil plan in mind... Mwahahaharrr. I'm a little on the crazy side, but you love it. Stay tuned for chapter 10! R&R!_**

**_And here is another teaser... enjoyyyy... :D_**

_"Who's Krauser?" _

_Leon looked up at Jake, seeing the weariness in the younger mans eyes, they were both exhausted, having not slept in a few days. He resisted the urge to scratch his neck raw where the needle went in, mentally cursing the fact that he wouldn't be able to anyway, and instead pondered on an answer, trying to take his mind of other things. "He used to be my partner a number of years back, we did missions together. When I first joined the Government, I went to the base of the United States Special Operations Command for training, it was there when I first met him. Eventually we trained together, that was until I left for the Government, to start my services. I took orders from the president directly, and my first assignment was Project Javier, in which I was partnered with Krauser." _

_Jake thought for a moment. "Javier? That's right, there was an outbreak there, I saw it in the files you had me read." He said, cringing at that last part, he never liked reading. _

_Leon nodded, a ghost of a smile hinting across his face before it vanished. "During the Op, Krauser was injured, of which he was unable to recover from, so he was forced to leave the military. No one ever knew where he went, no one saw him. The man had vanished." Leon signed, remembering the last time he saw the other man, the glare shot his way. "It wasn't until a few months later when word reached that Jack had been killed in a crash."_

_"And let me guess, the bastard came back alive." Jake said in understanding when a look crossed the older mans face. The ex-mercenary frowned. "Why is it that nothing stays dead anymore?" He said in annoyance._

_"You get used to it." Leon rehearsed, smirking when Jake looked at him. _

_Jake smiled, relieved to see that the older man was still in a sence where he was that hero he'd met in China. "You weren't kidding." Jake chuckled dryly._

_Leon shrugged, before continuing. "It wasn't until when I was in Spain, rescuing the Presidents daughter, 2 years prior of that, when Jack showed himself, only this time, I knew we were on enemy terms. He was..." Leon suddenly paused, pondering whether or not he should continue with what he was going to say. "..He was working for Wesker. Your father." He finished quietly. _

_Jake lent forward at the mention of his father, questions coming to mind, along with what he'd been told about what Wesker did, how close the man had come to destroying the world. Though looking at the older man, Jake decided now wasn't the time to ask such questions. So he just nodded at Leon, accepting, letting the older man continue. _

_"We fought, kind of like our training, only I knew that if I slipped up, I was dead. I managed to gain the upper hand for a moment, but in the end, Krauser was able to disarm me of my knife, and I would have been dead, but... I had some help at the last second." Leon smiled ever faintly, not saying anything more or hinting at who helped him. _

_Jake narrowed his eyes, both of them knowing that there was more, both of them knowing that Jake wasn't going to get it, and both of them knowing that should they get out of here, Jake would demand it. Then the ex-mercenary looked at the older man curiously. "A knife fight, eh? And just how good are you with a blade?" Jake asked tauntingly, smirking. _

_Leon smirked back, "If we get out of here, maybe I'll show you." He said, the last part sounding dangerously challenging. _

_Jake could have laughed, but he didn't, only staring at the man with a equal challenge. "Your on, hero."_

_Leon was about to reply, when a sudden urge to retch filled him, followed closely by sharp pain in his chest and causing him to gasp at the sudden change, the familure feeling one he hoped to never feel again, and he paniced. "Jake-" Leon managed to choke out before the feeling intensified, leaving him groaning as the agonly left him speechless. _

_The older man wasn't the only one who was panicking. Jake pulled at his restraints, at first not knowing what was happening. "Leon!? What is it?!" The ex-mercenary didn't like the sound of the choked cries and gasps that he was hearing, and when the older man didn't reply immediately, Jake yelled again. "C'mon hero, answer me!"_

_**Aaaand it ends there. Can't give away too much. Is Krauser still alive? Because we are all Resident Evil gamers here, and we know nothing **_**_stays dead..._**


	10. Chapter 10

_**Hello my freaky darlings! Thank you so much for all your comments and awesomeness, I'm glad you like this story even with its faults. It's been a number of weeks since the last update and don't worry, I've still got this one on the roll, I just write ahead when ever I get a block. Such as it is, that's been happening allot recently, but once I'm past this block, things should come along faster than you can say 'Good morning Vietnam! It's 0600, what's the 'O' stand for? 'O'h my god its early!' Yeah... Aside from that, thanks for staying tuned, I don't have access to the internet much, that doesn't mean I ignore your comments, I love 'em and here is my reply: (You know who you are) ;)**_

_**I'm wondering If I should bring Krauser back, coz' he's a bad ass. Though a dead man can still cause chaos. Vote for Krauser in your comments, and lets see the results, remember, your vote may change the story, because I'm all up for ideas! :D**_

_**As for Chris, I love Chris, he's welcome in my story any time, as for his role, you decide! Should he make more appearances? And what will he do with the information Leon gave him? Also, his little 'issue' with Jake, how will that play out? Ideas? **_

_**Continue with future snippets?**_

_**What of Leon and Ada? She will make a few appearances, in her own little way.**_

_**Jake will always have a spot for Sherry, coz those two are just to damn cut together.**_

_**BUT BUT BUT... Here's a thing a few of you have been asking. What of Leon and Jake's relationship? Keep it as partners who fight along side each other, adding taunts, arguments, petty challenges and games, the hurt/comfort thing. Or, as Miss Smith believes, slash, with all its following slashiness. Vote in the comments! Because I got no Idea how else to set up a voting thing... Still learning you see. **_

_**Another note, our two handsome guys will fight to the death along side each other, because I believe they are equal in their experiences. So hurt/comfort either way. **_

_**Anyways, enough of my rambling, here is chapter 10...**_

_**And here we go... (The joker from Batman. AWESOME.)**_

**CHAPTER 10**

Jake was pacing again.

In the short time it took from the meeting, then driving to the hospital, Leon had began to sweat, pale skin warming, and when Jake had brough a hand up to the agents forehead, it was burning with fever. Now, surrounded by white walls, doctors and nurses walking about among other people in the halls, Jake walked back and forth outside the room in which Leon had disappeared into with a man in a white coat. He had put his dark shades on, if only to not frighten anyone with the intensity of his glare and untrusting eyes, the black Government suit stark against all the white.

With another glare behind the dark shades, and a frustrated sigh, he settled his pacing for leaning against the wall next to the door where Leon was, crossing his arms and eyeing every inch of the hospitals surroundings, mentally mapping out the surveillance cameras, the floor they were on, the room number, who entered this room and that, and tracking everyone moves. Jake hated hospitals. Though it wasn't just his hate that had him on edge, it was the feeling of being watched.

The last time Jake had been in a place this horribly white, was back in China, where he was a guinea-pig for Neo-Umbrella and that woman Ada, and his hatred grew for such places because Sherry too was taken back then. He never really knew what happened to Ada, whether or not Neo-Umbrellas left overs were scattered about in countries around the world, but if she was still alive, he was going to find her one day. Though it was strange, she often spoke of his father, Wesker, and his plan that nearly destroyed the word, she spoke of him as a failure, a fool, and Jake couldn't help the silent dry laugh at the fact that she too had failed. All because of Weskers _son_.

But as fare as Jake was concerned, he's got nothing to do with his father, and he was angry, jealous, that Redfield had been the one to kill the man.

A click sounded and brought Jake out of his thoughts, and the ex-mercenary turned to the door that opened as the doctor came out of the room. Jake stepped away from the wall and took a menacing step to the man in white, seeing the doctor shuffle back a pace as the glare Jake sent him through his glasses seemed to burn.

The doctor cleared his throat a little. "It's good that you brought him in, otherwise things would have been a lot worse." The doctors demeanor was that of a professional, his tone knowing and scolding despite the dangerous edge the tall agent radiated. With another breath, the doctor continued. "I've put him on some antibiotics to help-"

"I said no drugs." Jake growled, towering over the man.

"I've checked his medical records, none of which I gave him will do any harm." The man said, holding his ground as a doctor, the other agents words were thick with warning, but the doctor reassured the agent, thinking that the taller man was concerned for a possible reaction of the drugs in which he gave to the patient.

Jake knew where the doctor was getting at, and continued to glare, eyeing the man suspiciously through dark shades. Without another word or heeding a possible order from the doctor, Jake nudged past him causing the man to shuffle away slightly, and the ex-mercenary entered the room.

The agent in question was sitting on the white bed against the head-board with his injured leg straight and the other tucked under in a casual fashion. The older mans head was back and resting on a pillow, the suit jacket had been taken off and draped over a chair, the sleeve of the older mans shirt had been rolled up in which a thin tube was attached to the mans arm, and Jake eyed the bag of clear fluid on a nearby stand.

The ex-mercenary would have thought that the older man was asleep, but at the sound of footsteps the agent opened his eyes, looking tiredly at the other. "Am I not the only one who feels that something isn't right here..?"

Jake walked over and sat in the chair next to the bed after a thought and took off the shades, eyeing the room wearily and not answering the mans question. "How are you feeling?" The ex-mercenary asked, looking at the agent, eyes narrowing with a frown at the drip attached to the mans arm.

Leon caught the look, and pondered over his words for a moment. "Better." He said with a shrug, shifting slightly and resisting many urges, one of which was to pull the damn drip out of his arm and leave these walls. "Don't worry about Doctor Davis, I've known him since I first joined the Government." He said after a pause, still seeing Jake eye the bag with suspicion.

Jake scoffed. "Don't you mean since you were forced into the Government? Another reason for me to kick his arse." The ex-mercenary couldn't stand sitting anymore, and got up after another pause, walking around the small room and eying the emptiness of the area. That's good, means they won't be here for long.

"Well..." Leon watched as Jake walked around in boredom, the younger man pausing at the window to look out the blinds before closing them. "Davis said as soon as this bag is empty, we can go. He knows he can't keep me here any longer than a day."

Jake nodded silently, frustration still evident. The ex-mercenary walked back over to the bed before randomly picking up the clip board hanging at the end, flicking through the pages and eyes skimming over the agents details. "He checked the wound?"

Leon nodded, at a loss on what to do when Jake was in these weird moods. "Yeah, treated it and then patched it up again. Said that I should be back to kicking people's heads in no time, saying that my stubbornness gets in the way." Leon quoted the mans words, hoping that it would put the younger man at ease, and he mentally signed when the ex-mercenary smirked.

"Good, because I hate this place." Jake muttered only loud enough for the agent to hear, before frowning at the paper in his hands. "Your suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?" Jake asked quietly, looking back up to the agent, eyes again unreadable.

Leon swallowed past his dry throat, looking at Jake for a moment as he struggled with words before glancing away, unable to take the others stare. His condition had been going on and off for the past 15 years, and it had finally leveled out for a while when he met President Benford, though the incident in Tall Oaks had flared, caused it to rise again, along with the nightmares. It all started in Raccoon, though it wasn't until when he was in military training after the outbreak when an incident had accured, resulting in the near death of a fellow recruit during a training exercise, and it had finally been written down in _new time's roman_ print in his file that he suffered from PTSD.

Jake knew a personal subject when he saw one, and he mentally cursed at himself for bringing it up. The silence was thickening, and the ex-mercenary closed the clip board before hastily hooking it back to the end of the bed. Clearing his throat quietly and started pacing again, occasionally looking at his watch and glancing at the bag that further kept them there, seeing in dismay as it was only half done.

Jake had grown up as a mercenary since the age of 18, and had always thought Government agents were like machines, the fools who followed orders no matter what, rich kids growing up to live the life like that of an action movie where the hero saves the day and gets the girl. The people who marked everything with red tap and lied to cover their own ends, and Jake remembered the thought of hating the Government, that he'd rather shoot them than the possibility of ever working with them, and being a mercenary comfortably put him on the opposite side.

All that started to change when he met Sherry, hell, everything did.

The agent on the hospital bed was starting to cause a conflict within Jake, making him wonder about everything he'd learnt, everything he'd been told. Though he guessed they were all human, they all had their story, their reasons as to why they are where they are, Jake knew that all to well, because he had his _own_ story hidden under a layer of mercenary carelessness.

"How do you deal with it?" Jake asked quietly out of the blue before he could even stop himself, and he looked at the older man before averting his gaze quickly, already accepting that the question wouldn't be answered.

Leon looked at the younger man with surprise at the sudden question, at the lost look in the others eyes, at the desperate tone in the ex-mercenaries voice. Leon pondered the weight of the question as Jake looked away from him, and saw the defeat hinting the mans broad shoulders. "Honestly..." Leon began quietly, "I don't think I do." He said hesitantly, not sure if his truth was going to help the younger man, though when the ex-mercenary looked at him silently, Leon could see the gratefulness in the cool depths.

Jake gave a small nod, accepting the answer, and was short of pacing again when the door opened, and Doctor Davis stepped into the quiet room.

"Agent Kennedy." The man said, walking over to the bedside and checking the progress, ignoring Jake's intimidating figure for now. "No sign of infection, no bone marrow in the blood, an extent of tissue damage but, other than the blood loss, you'll be fine. I would suggest to keep from walking for about another week, but, that would be like telling a kid not to eat candy, now would it?" Davis asked dryly, seeing the hint of a smirk ghost across the man in questions face. The doctor stopped the drip machine, pulling off the tube section and placing that aside before getting some tape and a cotton bud, easing the needle out before taping the small hole up.

Jake stood near by, watching every move made by the doctor, and giving a small huff at the mans attempt of humor.

Leon rolled down his sleeve when the doctor was done, and carefully swung both legs over to the edge of the bed, though not getting up just yet despite Jake's fidgeting to leave. "All good then?" Leon asked, looking at the doctor before pointing Jake with a glare to silently tell the man the ease off the burn he had set on the white coated man.

"I wouldn't say that, but yeah, your free to go." Davis said, stepping back as the agent stood up, eyeing the faint wince with a frown. "Can't say what caused the fever though." Davis said with confusion, looking back down at the results printed out on paper. "Whom ever treated you before I, did a good job, and I'd say that blood transfusion saved your life." The doctor continued looking down at the results, entirely missing the exchanged looks between the two agents.

Leon took his jacket from the near by seat, and shrugged it on, hearing the silent question behind the doctors words, and knowing that it was probably best not to tell the man the details. He'd known Davis for a number of years now, and trusted the man, though Davis wasn't a Government doctor, didn't have the clearance for the details of his injuries, and the man knew it. But as a doctor, Leon knew the pressing of questions was only in favor to help, one can't heal an injury if they don't know what caused it.

Davis seemed to understand, he did the moment the agent walked into the building. "Just make sure you check in every few days, and if anything changes, like another fever, come back in immediately." Davis ordered like doctors do to their patients, closing the file before stepping side, allowing the agent the room to the door.

Leon nodded despite Jake's irritable look. "Will do. Thanks Davis." He said, before walking out the room, Jake trailing behind him.

Jake was silent for a moment as they walked down the halls, occasionally stepping aside to let people pass, the building being more crowded that what it was before, doctors and nurses working among the many people who were here due to it being visiting hours. "You trust that guy?" Jake asked, shades back on and eyes darting between him, Leon and the other people walking about.

Leon looked over his shoulder briefly before continuing. "He's my assigned doctor, Jake, he's never given me a reason not to trust him."

Jake scolded, shaking his head as he kept up with the others steady pace. "He looks like an arse."

"Only because he's wearing a white coat." Leon retorted, shooting Jake an irritable, yet understanding look. "Believe me, our first meeting didn't go down so well..." Leon said dryly, weaving expertly through the nurses and other people.

Jake's curiosity spiked at that. "Oh yeah?" Something about the way the older man said that caused Jake to mentally smirk, this sounded interesting.

Leon didn't turn to look at him as they walked, only continued. "When you've seen the things I've seen, and you wake up in a white room with some white clothed man standing over you, a needle posed, your bound to react accordingly to the situation."

Jake couldn't help but laugh, the sound was strange to his ears, not being a laughing type of person, but the underlined tone in the agents voice that stated he was trying to justify his actions, and the ex-mercenary couldn't help it. "Never given you a reason not to trust him, you say?" Jake said dryly, before asking with a smirk."What'd you do?"

"I may have... held him hostage with the needle at his neck as the hospitals security tried convincing me that no, they did not work for Umbrella."

All Jake could see was the back of the agents head, but he could tell by the mans tone that the older man was cringing at the memory, and Jake smirked, this time keeping the laugh from sounding and just settled for shrugging. "Less than what I would have done." Jake said, after what he'd seen since meeting Sherry, he'd probably act the same way, if not worse, if some stranger wearing white had a needle next to him.

"Leon Scott Kennedy?"

What ever words that the two might have said were cut short as a woman walked briskly over to them, pushing past people as he high heels sounded on the carpeted floor. She was wearing a grey suit, business skirt and dark leggings, black high heels covered in black glitter, the pink of her neat shirt showed at her collar, the few buttons undone showing too much skin, the grey professional cut jacket closing with one large button. Her blond iron curled hair was done up in a bun, pink framed glasses bordering large eyes. In her hand was a small recorder.

Leon knew immediately he'd made a mistake in responding to his name.

Jake stepped around the frozen agent as the woman made her way over quickly with too much interest, and the ex-mercenary placed himself a small step in front of Leon and to the side, holding out a hand to stop the nosey woman from getting any closer. Jake was short of ordering her to take a step back, his cover status as a Government Agent still in play, but the womans fury of questions were not to be over run.

"Special Agent Kennedy, It is you. Is it true that you rescued the former Presidents daughter, Ashley Graham, from a cult in spain single handedly?" The womans words drew the attention of the people in the waiting rooms and halls, some of them looking on with curiosity and keen interest at the man they'd just heard about on TV.

Leon's heart picked up at the reporters question, because the public weren't suppose to know the details to Ashley's kidnapping those years ago, and the agent suddenly concluded that the terrorists had again released some highly clarified information through the network.

"Uh.." Leon swallowed, but before he could say anything he was cut off.

"Was the kidnapping an attempt on the former Presidents life? What about your old partner, the man responsible for the kidnapping, how do you feel about that? How do we know you weren't in on the terrorists plans?" The woman's questions were followed by more, the situation causing people to gather.

Jake could feel the alarm and discomfort radiating in waves off the agent in question, and he couldn't help the fury that took him. "Hey, he saved that girl!" Jake growled, raising his voice a little, but the woman was relentless, ignoring the ex-mercenary completely, and following her questions where that of the gathered crowd, and Jake's inner alarm sounded at sight of a video camera locked onto them.

"Agent Kennedy," A man spoke up. "Where you infected with a parasite on that mission? That same parasite that was going to be used as a weapon against the United States?" The mans question caused a few people to gasp, some of them distancing themselves from the group, but most of them pressed.

"Are you one of the survivors of Raccoon City?"

"Is it true that you suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?"

"Were you there when the former President was killed?"

"Are you working on the case to uncover the mystery of White Wolf? Were you shot on the investigation? It that why your here?"

"Rumors believe there was another group involved with the kidnapping of Ashley Graham, a woman in red. Do you or do you not have any form of relationship with this woman?"

Leon was taken back by the extent of the questions, each one more startling as they piled up, and he was shaken at the last question, jaw clenching at the anger surfacing. He was somewhat saved from an angry retort that wouldn't have been very professional in such a situation when his phone started ringing, the shrill sound trying to break through the gathered voices of the people surrounding Jake and himself, and only then did Leon see the camera focused on them. A spike of alarm shot though him as he pulled the phone from his pocket, ID: Hunnigan.

No doubt she was watching this right now, because the camera posed on them was from channel 10, why they were in the hospital in the first place was beyond him. Jake was standing to the side of him, pushing some people back when they got to close. The ringing was persistent, and Leon answered it, not saying anything as questions continued to banter, the people's voices trying to talk over each other in order to be heard and answered.

_"Get out of there!" _

As soon as Leon brought the phone to his ear, those were the first words he heard, Hunnigan's urgent voice finally causing him to move. Leon nudged Jake, grabbing the ex-mercenaries attention immediately, and a silent message passed between the two. Even though the crowd was a cluster of people who weren't moving, Jake forced his way through, glaring heatedly and securing an arm around Leon's shoulders so that the older man doesn't get pulled into the fray of reporters and media.

Getting out of the building was far more difficult than entering, and the hallways suddenly seemed far too long, ex-mercenary and agent pushed their way through the people who were at their heels, and it seemed like an eternity until they were outside and walking quickly to the jeep parked on the road verge, the people following them with recorders and cameras, questions ever calling.

Jake heard the satisfying beep as the jeeps locks clicked on command, and he opened the passenger door, near forcefully pushing the older man into the seat before closing, making sure he locked that door before he proceeded around to the drivers side. The engine turned to life at the turn of the key, people gathered around the windows of the vehicle, making Jake growl in anger. Not caring anymore than what he did if they were undead, Jake added pressure to the acceleration, and the jeep moved forward quickly, causing the people foolishly standing in front of the vehicle to jump out of the way.

All the while, there was silence.

{{Page Break}}

"What the _hell_ just happened?" Jake growled furiously as they walked into the apartment building after having to make several detours so ensure that they weren't being followed.

Leon was silently fuming as they reached the elevators which would take them up to the third floor, and the small enclosed space seemed to choke the two as they stepped in. "I'd say the terrorists released some more information to the media." He said tensely, not looking at the younger man as he directed his glare to the elevator doors when they closed. In the event he'd finished the call to Hunnigan, telling her to find any possible lead or leak as to who first got the information, to find the source.

"No shit." Jake replied back angrily, "How did they know we were there? Damn it! I knew going to the hospital was a bad call!" The ex-mercenary didn't like this one bit, that feeling of being watched in the white halls warned him, and he brushed it off like it was nothing. "They tracked us through the surveillance cameras." Jake said after another tense pause.

Leon nodded. "Yeah, that's what I was thinking. But the information isn't my only concern now, Jake. They saw you, and not just Demarko, but now the whole country, your on live TV. I just hope they don't put a name to your face, otherwise things could escalate, and not just from the public. My people now know you are working with me, and they'll want answers."

"Whats the worst they could do?" Jake challenged.

"This is _not_ China, Jake." Leon said sternly, finally shooting the younger man his angered gaze. "Demarko will no doubt stop at nothing to get what he wants, whatever that is. But you are a target for the Government, my word will mean nothing to them should they get a hold of you."

"What? Because I'm _Weskers son_? Is that it?" Jake's voice grew more thick with fury, now openly tense and emotions straining for control.

"Yes, that's _exactly_ it. Even dead, what the man stood for is still a threat, why do you think Neo-Umbrella surfaced?" Leon pointed out heatedly.

"I'm not like my farther!"

"No." Leon stated, the anger dying down suddenly as he eyed the younger man. "Your not." A tense stillness filled the elevator, and Leon breathed out his nose as the air seemed to give them room for but a moment. "I've never met your farther, and I was fortunate to never cross paths with him, although I was on his hit list for a while there. What I read about him though, the things he did... You carry his genes, his blood. Hell, with those shades on before, you even looked like him, enough to set me on edge." Leon admitted.

"So what? You don't trust me?" Jake asked, anger filling him again briefly, and it was in disappointment at the possibility that the agent didn't trust him.

"Sherry trusts you." Leon said without hesitation, and that silenced the younger man. "I trust you." He finished, leaving no room for doubt. "And I'm not going to let Weskers name haunt your actions."

Jake was silent for another moment, time seemed to have stopped as the elevator took seemingly for ever to reach the third floor. His eyes were locked onto that of the older mans, respect showing as well as silently thanking the agent.

"Jake Muller..." Leon said quietly, nodding. "Your mothers?" He asked gently, knowing that subject in the past seemed a dangerous one to bring up, and Leon wasn't prepared for the soft edge, one he'd never seen in the ex-mercenary, one that reflected in cool blue eyes, features melting away and the strain of the recent years disappeared, leaving the face of a 21 year old man as he should have been.

"Yeah..." Jake said, his voice as quiet to match the stillness of the small room.

Leon smiled. "Suits you." He said kindly, the silence that followed was broken by the exotic 'ding' as the elevator stopped, and the doors opened, causing Leon to break eye contact as they made the step off the elevator.

Right as an explosion shook the building.

**End of Chapter 10.**

**Well, Since I questioned... Here is another snippet :D**

**A note on this snippet. I'm bringing in another character that I randomly made, and along with a warning. Every time you see the name 'Ziggy', you are in for a chapter full of swearing, violence, crude 'discussions' on Ziggys part, and blood. As for personality of Ziggy, any of you played Far Cry 3? Well, when you think of Ziggy's personality, think of Vaas. Though Ziggy has similar style to Javier Hidalgo, tattooed arms and hands covered in old fashioned rings. Yep. So this guy is tough, mean, violent, and crazy. So you have been warned! And here we are. My freaky darlings, this is Ziggy. Ziggy, these are my freaky darlings. Behave people!**

**Note: Leon is undercover in this snippet.**

_Before Leon had the chance to register the warning his nerves fired at him, the sound of steel sheened and not even a second later a body came over his, a hand gripping the hilt of the knife and with surprising force, the blade sunk right through his out stretched hand and into the table with a sickening thud. Leon let out a surprised agonised cry, trying to bring his other hand around to pull the knife free, but his wrist was grasped quickly and restrained by the man on top of him. _

_The body that was over his and pinning him to the table lent in closer, breath coming to brush by his ear. "I'll admit, you had us fooled." Ziggy said, hand still gripping the knife buried in the agents hand. The agent let out a shaky groan as Ziggy continued. "But you wanna know what gave you away just a moment ago? Hm? Your eyes, those baby blue eyes lookin' all worried when I mentioned Jake Muller." _

_Leon kept quiet, breathing out his nose as he glared at the only other man in his line of sight who was still sitting down and toying with cards despite the fact that he just got made. Ziggy nudged the knife, just a little, causing him to wince terribly and bite his lip, something close to a whimper of pain escaping despite his attempts. _

_"What's wrong? No talkin' anymore?" Ziggy asked, disappointed. "Have I failed to entertain you? I thought a game of cards would be great, ya' know, family tradition. But uh, oh, that might be hard for you now, hm?" Ziggy released his hold on the knife which was still imbended in the table, a small pool of blood staining the wood under the agents hand, also coming to run in small rivers down between the knuckles. _

_"Hey, this guy has some good cards." Max said from where he was seated._

_"Shut up." Ziggy idly said before turning his attention back to the agent. A chuckle sounding in his throat. "Anyway. I've heard some stuff about you, Kennedy is it? Ill call you Agent K." He said, bringing up his free hand to trace the agents jaw randomly before running lightly over the faint scar on Leon's face. "I also know 'bout this, too." _

_"Do you?" Leon finally said, glad that his voice wasn't as shaky as he felt. The fact that these men knew about his fight in Spain puzzled him, so his question was more of a challenge. _

_Ziggy nodded, humming his answer. "You killed him, no?" Laughing, he nodded again in approval before Leon could say anything more on the subject. "I like that. Yeah. So because I'm in a generous mood, I'll give you a chance." Ziggy carried on, hand still tracing the scar. "If you can free your hand from that knife, I'll let you live. Oh, I donno, maybe you could pull your hand and the knife free, but... Its teeth are rather deep in the table for that.." Still keeping the agent down with his body weight, Ziggy eyed the knife from where he was. "Although..." He said, brushing his lips heatedly on the agents ear. "I have intently left the knife with another option." _

**:O I was tempted to add more to that snippet, really, but that would be too long for a snippet then. XD I know, I'm horrible. Anyways, what do you think Leon will do..? I know what he does... XD Again...**

**Anyways, R&R!**


	11. Chapter 11

_**Hello my freaky love struck Jake and Leon lover's darlings. Now I will add it is highly possible that your wish had been granted, so this story will end up being Slash! I've hinted it in the past incase I wanted it to convert, and now it's official. Thanks to the many reviews and votes. Though the slash won't happen until a while yet, because you gotta work your way up, but we'll eventually get there. Thanks to 'Fanboy'(Is Leon really your first name?), dude your review had me laughing so much I nearly fell of my chair... well, ALMOST :D**_

_**Again sorry for any spelling errors. Thanks to those who point them out, I do try to fix 'em, **_**_sometime's I over look things. O.o  
_**

**_I will most likely bring back Krauser because of his popularity, so I'll just have to come up with a explanation as to how this 'temperamental mofo' gets back in scene. Anyways, for now, enjoy!_**

**_Warning: Character death... :O_**

**CHAPTER 11**

_To Feel Pain is to Be Human_

The building shook with the blast, the sound of glass shattering and the muffled cries of scared people sounding.

Leon and Jake looked at each other in alarm before making a break down the hall way, everything prior forgotten as they dodged people who ran out of their homes in the chaos as the two men headed for Leon's apartment. Jake didn't know where the explosion came from, or what caused it, but for some unknown reason they both ran to the agents pair got the the end of the corridor, and Leon was just short of digging for his keys to unlock the door marked 101 when he noticed something.

Smoke.

The grey air particles were puffing through the gap of not his apartment door, but that of room the room next to his, room 100. Mr and Ms Smiths apartment.

The air suddenly grew thick and Leon covered the small distance with haste, cursing in desperation to open the door but the thick wood wouldn't budge, and Leon looked on with great concern as smoke continued to billow from under the door. The agent looked up as Jake stood next to him, both exchanging looks before nodding, and together they braced themselves before kicking the door open with brutal strength that had the door breaking free of its hinges.

The toxic grey particles rose like mist as they stepped in the destroyed room, ash gathering on a point of the floor and everything around it was blown in a circle, and Leon knew immediately it had been some sort of grenade that had gone off, shrapnel nailing in furniture as stray fires ate at wood and papers. Leon stood there for a second, his heart thundering at the sight of a battle field where it shouldn't belong.

"Oh thank god!"

Both Leon and Jake snapped their eyes up at the scared voice, and walking in small hurried steps was a very frightened and dirt covered Ms Smith, burns darkening her daisy apron, many small stray cuts littering her arms and cheeks, eyes watering with the smoke that stung. Her voice shook, and her fluffy slippers kicked through the wrecked lounge room on burnt carpet.

Leon's breath hitched, eyes wide with adrenalin and horror. "Angela-" Leon took a few hurried steps forward, though never made it even close to her.

Chaos escalated as sound rained down, what was left of the windows shattered as bullets broke through the apartment building, hitting everything in their path, including the elderly woman in her cooking clothes. Leon could only watch in absolute horror and terror as blood splattered on her chest, his scream of denial rose through his throat, but the agent did not hear it, all he could see was Ms Smith, looking at him with pained scared eyes before her body made harsh contact with the ground.

All else was cloaked in a dome of angst and Leon made to rush forward, not caring as bullets whizzed by missing him by mere millimeters. He could hear someone yelling, but didn't heed such, only time seemed to slow as his eyes fixed on his target. She wasn't moving. Leon suddenly found a pair of strong arms around his chest, pulling him back, and the agent fought them, yelling and cursing, desperate to get to Ms Smith, but the arms pulled him down with force that matched his struggles, pulling him from the shooters sights on the apartment building, pulling him from her.

"Get a hold of yourself! You'll be killed!"

Leon turned his nightmare striken eyes to the ex-mercenary beside him, giving the younger man a furiously burning, and horrid look. Leon stilled for a moment if not to get the younger man the release him, but the ex-mercenary didn't even attempt to, instead he looked at the agent with equal fury.

Jake could see the raging conflict that glistened in the older man's now story blue eyes, and knew that if the agent had another chance to run out in the open, he'd talk it. Bullets continued to rain down, clipping furniture and the couch that they were behind for cover, a number of meters stray of Ms Smith. Jake shook his head at the agent, before releasing one hold only to draw his gun, keeping his other hand in a strong grip around the older mans arm.

"Let me _go_."

The agent's growl was low, but could be heard over the sound that somewhat deafened the room, and Jake continued to hold the other, again, shaking his head, glaring at the older man. "Not about to happen, Hero. I'm not letting you." Jake said sternly back.

"Damn it! Let go!" Leon yelled this time, resuming his struggles.

Jake discarded the gun for a second only to grab the agent firmly by the shoulders. "You'll be no good to anyone if you're dead! You of all people should know that!" Jake continued to hold the others furious gaze, fingers gripped the others suit and into his arms to keep the man out of the bullets path and behind cover.

The two men had a stand off, eyes both burning into the others as smoke from the fires lifted to be carried out of the shattered windows, and when things came to a sudden still, the two were still glaring, both wills battling and neither gaining. Another moment passed the silence as bullets stopped raining down, the chaotic rush came to a whisper. Jake held the agents gaze for an agonizingly long moment later, before releasing the man completely.

Neither moved.

Jake shifted as he carefully looked over the back of the couch, the material shredded with the continuous bullets that previously thundered, his hand grasping the discarded gun despite a feeling that made itself known. They weren't the targets. Demarko wouldn't order a hit on them just yet, it was too soon in the game, and Jake knew that this attack was only to tell them who was the dealer, who had control, taunting them with the angst of how easily they could have been dead.

The angst that now someone else is dead.

Like he expected, nothing happened, and after another look in clear sights, Jake stood up. "They're gone." He said tightly.

Leon didn't even hesitate, not even sparing the ex-mercenary a glance, he rushed over to Ms Smith. There was no sight of Ben, and Leon desperately hoped the old man was all right. Leon fell on his knees next to Ms Smith, his heart clenching and breath hitching so much he nearly choked. She was still alive.

"Angela..." Leon's whisper was thick with emotion as he gathered the dying woman in his arms, cradling her gently and bringing a restrained shaking hand to carefully add pressure to the blood soaking her apron. She looked up at him through watery eyes, the corners of her mouth stained with crimson. "Y-you're gonna be alright, ok? Just hang in there. - Jake!" Leon forced his voice to remain calm before calling over his shoulder at the ex-mercenary, but soft words drew his attention back.

"I knew.. you would come."

Her words were ever cheery, if not quiet, and Leon swallowed at the extent of trust he saw in her eyes. "Shh, don't talk, save you strength." He said soothingly to her, before pointing his brief attention to the younger man who was behind him. "Jake, call an ambulance!" His words were lined with desperation, and he saw the younger man move quickly, only making out the dialed numbers before a cold hand on his arm redirected his gaze again.

"You remind me... so much of my son." Ms Smith said quietly, looking at the agent with watery eyes and bringing up a cold trembling hand to the mans cheek, who later grabbed it in a gentle hold, bloodied hands keeping it there. "He... was a cop, always dreamt of being a hero... All the cadets looked up to him. He... moved to Raccoon... City, to join.. the RPD f-for a promotion. We were... so proud.. of him."

Her words were soft, and Leon felt a aching pain in his heart, one that physically hurt him, and he swallowed as she continued.

"We.. lost him in.. 1998, w-with the incident..."

Leon could feel a sting in his eyes, her truth shocked him deeply as he fought with the information, the memory, his throat closing up thickly with the strain of fighting back mixed emotions, closing his eyes tightly for a moment before opening, tears brimming, and he was unable to say anything as she continued.

"E-everything was... destroyed. W-we couldn't.. even bury him. T-they never.. told us about what happened.. that day in Raccoon, d-deep down I... knew there was.. something more.." Ms Smith trailed of for a moment coughing lightly, and Leon squeezed her hand gently, rubbing his thumb over in a soothing pattern.

Leon swallowed, guilty eyes hesitantly locked onto her fading ones. "Angela, I-"

"I saw t-the news..." She continued, blinking tiredly up at him, thought there was no anger, only kindness and acceptance. "Y-you survived... the nightmare.. I could see it in your eyes, haunted."

"I tried to get as many people out as I could..." Leon said, forcing words past his restricted throat.

Ms Smith smiled faintly, sweet and simple, her hand still caressing the agents face gently, thumb smoothing over the tears that escaped. "Always the hero..." She said with a motherly care of pride and amusement. "Life is.. too short to grieve... son."

Leon stared into her eyes, seeing an acceptance that would forever haunt him, and he choked back a sob as her eyes drifted shut. "Angela..?" He dared to whisper, but he got no response from the elderly woman, her hand fell limply from his suddenly slack grasp, and all the agent could do was stare at her unresponsive form, tears running down his face at what she'd told him. Leon's hand shook as he brushed her hair aside gently away of her closed eyes, his face was scrunched up in angst as he bowed his head over her form, fighting back the overwhelming rush of emotions.

His head was throbbing, but the ache in his heart consumed him, sadness and guilt bubbling in his stomach, Leon didn't know how much time had passed, but he gathered that it wasn't much. He couldn't see anything but Angela, couldn't remember anything but Raccoon, the burglar, the taste of her cooking, the cheeriness she brought, the feeling of home, Leon didn't even feel the hand that was placed on his shoulder, didn't feel the presence of the ex-mercenary standing behind him.

After a moment, he did feel something, and after a moment, all he _could_ feel, was anger.

"...Hero?"

Oxygen was breathed out his nose forcefully, his jaw clenched, eyes shedding their last tears before drying, and Leon gently placed the body of Angela Smith down on the carpet, his hand caressing her face gently before withdrawing. He stood up, not acknowledging his name being called carefully. There were flashes of blue and red lights outside the window, sirens blaring and people shouting.

Leon looked down, staring at his bloodied hands.

Jake stood behind the agent, his hand still placed on the older mans shoulder, a weight that was meant to be comforting, but the ex-mercenary didn't know whether or not it was his place to offer such comfort. When he called the ambulance, all he could think about was Leon, even though Jake was just as striken by the death of Ms Smith, he was more worried about the agent. If Demarko wanted to hit where it hurts, he succeeded.

"Hero... we need to go." Jake said after another tense pause, but it didn't gain any form of acknowledgment, the older man only continued to stare at bloodied hands. Jake glanced around, knowing police and other agents would soon be swarming the place, and the last thing they needed now was to be held up as suspects to the coming investigation. Swallowing, Jake moved around the other, placing himself in the older mans line of sight and placing both of his hands on the agents shoulders, gripping firmly to gain the others attention.

Leon felt numb to all else but the anger that was consuming him from every pore, and looked up at the weight on his shoulders, warm through the material of his jacket at the bitterness that made his blood cold. He stared into the ex-mercenaries eyes dully, and somehow identifying the look the other gave him.

"We need to go." Jake said again more strongly, taking node of the time that was passing.

Through the anger that was bubbling beyond the surface, Leon nodded mutely.

Jake too nodded at the agent, and after another short pause, he let go of the others shoulders, turning around and heading over to the door quickly, looking over briefly to make sure the older man was following.

The smoke was thinning out as the wind picked it up, fire's were dying down in the cold breeze, but the chaos was still evident. People were yelling outside, the wiry blare of sirens now parking out front of the building as local authorities began to make there way inside followed closely by doctors carrying equipment in response to the call.

The two men made it fast down the now empty hall way, heading for the fire exit. Footfalls were hurrying up the steps as the elevators were now out, and Jake pulled the fire exit door closed just as the group reached the third floor, heading down the hall and disappearing in room 100, the last resting place for a elder story, peacefully until the ink falls.

{{Page Break}}

They were walking down the back ally of the apartment building, heading around the corner and down another ally that lead behind the next block, Jake in the lead and Leon following silently behind, numb to his surroundings.

Around another corner and Jake paused next to a large covered object tucked away on the side of the building, the smoke grey cloth hiding it well from view to anyone casting a glance, the wind blowing the cover briefly and showing the roughness of a thick tire underneath for a moment. "We need to get out of this area." Jake said in way of explaining, not looking at the agent who stood a few feet behind him. Jake reached over and pulled off the dark cover, letting the material billow on the ground and revealing a large black Ducati motor-bike.

A jingle of keys sounded as Jake fished them out of his pocket, opening the back storage compartment before pulling out a jacket and a sleek black helmet. He tossed the helmet to the agent who surprisingly caught it despite the lack of attention, and Jake threw on the heavy leather jacket before hopping on the bike. "Jump on, Hero." He said after a moment, seeing that the older man hadn't made any moves.

Leon looked down at the helmet for another second, before giving a faint nod, stepping over to the bike, hesitating for another second before he swung a leg over the Ducati, seating himself behind the ex-mercenary.

"Ever ridden one of these, Hero?" Jake asked, trying to get the silent man to talk, because Jake hated this side of the agent, the man's silence troubled him. He pulled out the pair of dark shades from earlier and put those on, kicking up the bike's stand with a booted foot.

Leon snapped out of his thoughts again, still holding the helmet in numb hands as he sat behind the other. "Not really, car's are more safer." He finally said, taking a mental note not to tell the ex-mercenary how many accidents he'd been in driving a car, or a plane, or a bus...

Jake gave an amused huff. "It's easy really, just hold on tight." The ex-mercenary stated, his tone underlined with humor, but amongst that there was something else.

Leon could hear the humor in the words, and another unidentified meaning, something that he had started noticing since that night Jake gave the blood transfusion, something that the agent still hadn't pieced together yet. "Where to?" He asked in a way that was familiar to the younger man, and Leon allowed a smirk to cross his face even though the other couldn't see it, that was before he pulled the helmet over his head, closing the reflected wind visor and hiding his identity. Leon guessed that was the reason why he had the helmet.

"My place." Was all Jake said, before he turned the keys in the ignition and the Ducati rawed to life, and out of pride, Jake revved the engine causing the bike to pur. "Make yourself comfortable, Hero, she's got a good kick." Jake said over the noise.

Leon adjusted in his seat behind the ex-mercenary, sitting so that his chest was in contact with the other's back, and after another hesitant move that had him thinking Jake might have done this on purpose, Leon weaved both arms under the ex-mercenaries elbows and wrapped then around Jake's chest, indeed making himself comfortable and wondering if he'll survive this trip to 'Jake's place'.

With another rev of the engine, Jake turned the bike and headed out of the ally slowly, the rumble sounding and traveling through the seated riders. Once out on the road, Jake turned up the acceleration and the bike took off with speed down the street.

_**End of Chapter 11.**_

_**No I didn't! Yes I Did! I'm sorry darlings, I liked Ms Smith too, but someone needed to go for the story. Anyways, I hope the ending here lightened the mood a little. Until next time!**_

_**(I'm converting to PlayStation 4 because the new Xbox is such a cluster f*ck. And I grew worried thinking about my converted Gamer tag. Originally its ElfsDeathBox360, but that won't work, now would it? **_

_**So what do my freaky darlings think of Elfs-Death-Station?) :D**_

_**Elf out.**_


	12. Chapter 12

_**Good morning my freaky darlings! It's 0100 hours, what's the 'O' stand for? Oh... I should probably go to bed. Way past my bed time kiddies. Just joke's, nah, I'll stay up all night and morning if I wanted to, just to write this for you all! I've been away for a week, and came back with a cold, but I'm all good now. My days have been busy at work since Sunday, and now I'm back home from a crazy Saturday shift. I mean honestly, don't people have washing to do on the weekend? Game's to play? Story's to write? Because I do, damn it! :D**_

_**I'v been wanting to post this for a few days, and now I finally have access to the internet again, mwah! **_

_**Back to business! If you haven't seen already, I have posted a BONUS chapter for White Wolf in my Drabbles story, called "Quarantine Files". You'll find it on my account page.**_

_**It's called Leon Vs Jake (Knife fight)... and since you asked, slash. (Please read and let meh know what ya'll think! I need to know what my freaky darlings think of the Slash so I can progress it in PWW.)**_

_**I'll just leave that there ^^^^**_

_**Chapter 12 is a flash back to when our boys go listening in on the meeting before the whole roof top sniper shooting, I'm currently moving from playing Moonlight Sonata on my keyboard, to writing chapter 12 AND chapter 13, to music, to writing, to playing "I Am Alive" on my Xbox, going to work, coming back and repeat. So.. yeah.**_

_**Any of you have ideas for "Jake's Place"? I'd like to hear for Chapter 13 :D Again, all feedback is appreciated, I try to improve everything that you point out :)**_

_**This is my 'stress free' zone, so I hope you enjoy!**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 12**

_Midnight on my own_

[FlashBack]

You could tell a lot about the character of a person just by the way they walk, whether one would drag their feet and throw up the dirt under their shoes with each brushed and careless placement on the ground, or if one picked up their steps, transferring their weight from ankle to toes in a rolling motion that would result to remain soundless, the differences between gender and their life style. A model would place each heeled foot in front of the other like they were walking along on a very narrow plank, the movement would follow up to their hips in a swayed dance. Someone who dragged their feet would suggest either over confidence, or laziness that was either as it is, or forced to appear as they strolled too casually and carelessly out of a store with bags of unpaid for items.

Measured, even and steady steps were those of a person who knew what they were doing, where they were going, and who know their surroundings, what ever their objective is can be either good or bad intent, as knowledge can be both resourceful, getting to where you need to be just in time, or powerful, planning and plotting an act against the law.

People will react accordingly to a sudden fight or flight event should one arise, based on their personality which will reflect the jobs they have, the career they are following. A secret operation would be commencing in an office party where guests would wear suits and elegant gowns, make small talk of business and the latest state news, laughing and drinking wine, special agents would be concealed as guests to look for their target who's identity is unknown.

_People will react accordingly to a sudden fight or flight event._

Make some noise, cause a sudden accident, slip past a waitress and 'anciently' knock the tray of wine glasses to the ground. The smash would cause people to pause in their small talk, turn and shocked at the unexpected. Thus far the agents have narrowed down three suspects of their target based on their information, and as the glass sounds its loud impact with the polished floor, two of the suspects jump at the noise, turning to look with a frown.

The third is not fazed.

The man excuses himself from the group, moving out of the room with the words of 'fresh air'. 10 minutes later, the man was restrained and taken into custody after an attempt assassination on the dinner's host. The operation came to a close and was signed off by the organisation and its agents, the reports now filed away as evidence of the operation that had taken place.

If you sit there long enough, in the middle of a food court, you'll begin to notice things that you wouldn't have seen even on the third glance.

Even in the darkness, shadowed and out of the lights bubbles cast by the street lights, Leon could see from his point of view parked on the edge of Fredric Street - the three shadowed and unidentified figures walk down an ally behind block 62. They were no sleepwalkers, no group of thugs looking for a stray person or building to break into, they were trained, and they were armed. Their steps were full of dangerous knowledge, their posture weary.

Leon glanced down at his watch behind the tinted windows of the Jeep, seeing it click to 10:50pm. His other hand rested on the steering wheel, fingers quietly tapping a rhythm on the thick leather, and he looked back up, eyeing the men across the street as they disappeared into the darkness that the ally shadowed.

"When did you get shot?"

Leon looked over to the passenger side, his brow arched briefly at the sudden and unexpected question. Jake wasn't looking at him, seated in a slouched position and eying the eery darkness of the area which was void of any traffic or people apart from the three that just moved down the ally, heading to the old building. The question was just curious, and a little careless, causing Leon to get the impression that Jake didn't like the silence that had settled for the time that they'd been sitting there.

Leon was quiet for a moment as he returned his gaze back to the Ally across the street, the memory of the ex-mercenaries question flashing through his mind, and he thought for a moment on how to answer, because he could answer, the memory didn't hold the haunting sway over him like it did before, and he didn't see a reason not to trust Jake with the question. "Back when I was a cop." He finally said.

"You were a cop?" Jake looked at him with a hint of disbelief, before looking away and accepting with a light scoff. "Of course you were. Following your dad's footsteps, huh?" Jake again asked, hands fidgeting slightly out of habit in their fingerless gloves.

Leon shook his head, the movement small as he answered with a light, "No." There was little activity outside, and Leon again glanced at his watch, seeing that a whole 60 seconds had gone past. "My farther never wanted me to join the force."

"So you were a rebel kid, huh?" Jake huffed a single chuckle, before shrugging. "Y'know, I've wondered, have you always had that hair cut, hero?" Jake looked over just as a amused blue glare was shot his way by the man under question. "So what happened with your shoulder? Was it a bank robbery?"

Leon signed, his hand pausing its beat on leather before resuming. "Raccoon City happened, my first day with the RPD."

Jake raised an eye brow in surprise. "And I thought _my luck _was bad." Jake shook his head, smirking, though the darkness inside the vehicle cloaked them to one another like water, but the ex-mercenary didn't miss the amused gleam that faintly sparked behind the older mans fringe, or the rhythm of drumming fingers on the leather covered steering wheel.

"Annette Birkin."

Jake looked back to the agent, this time a frown marking his brow in thought. "Birkin? You mean Sherry's...?" Jake's question trailed off as he eyed the agent, though not seeing much as the man tilted his head down, dirty blond strands shielding his face as the older man again glanced at his watch.

"-Mom, yeah." Leon replied, mentally reading the numbers shown to him on the wrist device, 10:55pm. "Who would'a thought a scientist would carry around a Lightning Hawk, not a very original piece of lab equipment, huh?" He said idly, glancing back up across the street and spying another car pull up, head lights off, probably to avoid detection from a distance.

"Sherry's mom shot you?" Jake asked, now looking at the agent in confusion. Mentally wincing at the same time, a magnum round to the shoulder would explain the extent of scarring tissue Jake saw that night in the agents apartment, and the ex-mercenary can't say he'd ever been shot before, but the thought was never pretty.

"If its any context.." Leon narrowed his eyes at the men that got out of the car, another three in total, though non of them wore a large trench coat. He further frowned at one particular man, the biggest of the group, pausing to look their way as the others moved down the ally. Leon couldn't see his identity from the distance and darkness, but an unknown shiver made it self known as it traveled up his spine. "-She wasn't aiming for me." Leon mumbled, seeing the man disappear down the ally.

Jake watched the agent for a moment, before turning his gaze at the ally as the last man moved in its shadows, fingers now itching with the change and wanting to do something about it.

"Shall we?" Leon asked, glancing at the younger man seated beside him.

Jake didn't answer, but then he didn't need to. Both Agent and ex-mercenary quietly and cautiously opened their car doors, closing them just as such before making their way across the street and onto the dark side walk, a few meters away from the two black vehicles which really looked out of place and screamed something was goin' on here. Without needing any further communication, the two men slipped closer to the wall and down the ally next to the one that the other men took.

"You never did tell me who sent you the meeting details." Jake said quietly as they moved down the narrow ally, no feeling of danger arose at this time, but Jake was carefull, watchful, listening for everything. The dark made it hard to see, but he took that with the knowledge that they too would be hard to spot by whom ever was around.

"It's not important." Leon said as quietly, clearly brushing of the subject and making a point that he didn't want to talk about it.

Jake narrowed his eyes at the agent, somewhat untrustworthy. "My arse." He growled back, another one of his ways of saying bullshit. Because they were walking in on a enemy's meeting, good forbid that these men make such civilised acts, and Jake didn't want to walk into some kind of trap. He trusted the agent, but only to an extent, he didn't trust the agents contacts.

At the end they took a right to the next ally, which would lead them directly to the building listed in their interest. With Leon ahead of the younger man, he paused at the corner suddenly and held out an arm, stopping Jake from moving and pulling them both back against the wall, both of their breathing hitching and quieting.

Footsteps.

Leon exchanged a look with Jake, seeing the man reach for his gun, but the agent stilled the others movements, bringing up his free hand to hold a finger against lips, before surprising the ex-mercenary and pulling out his survival knife, and then Jake understood. They didn't want to compromise their position and there for throw away chance they had of gaining information. This was a stealth move that they needed to take.

The footsteps grew closer to the corner they were behind, and Leon pressed himself up closer, listening intently and counting the steps, his grip on the blade's handle tightening. Jake beside the agent was tense, and it didn't help when there was no light provided which would warrant a shadow of the man walking down the next ally, so Jake placed his hand over his hand gun, just in case things didn't go to plan.

The brushed footsteps, somewhat dragging on the pavement, were two sounds short of rounding the corner, when they suddenly stopped. A gruff Russian accent rang out quietly, calling.

"Hey Dimitri, what are you doing over there?"

"Scouting, idiot, the fuck does it look like I'm doing?" This voice was closer, telling the two concealed that it was the man just around the corner.

"Why the hell would I know, asshole? Look, the big guy want's us at our posts, otherwise it's your arse in the labs."

There was a grumble in Russian, before the footsteps wandered off, back the way they'd came. Leon allowed his grip on the survival knife to loosen, before shooting Jake another look. It wasn't until another moment later when they allowed themselves to relax, the footsteps fading all together. Leon signed, sheathing the blade.

Jake freed himself from behind the agents arm irritably, stepping around the older man to glance down the next ally, and pleased to find it empty. He looked over his shoulder before nodding at the agent, and moved down the wider passage, which had more than one closed entry and exit point to shops and other buildings, though all the doors were closed. Jake started down the area, ignoring the look that the agent gave him.

With no more problems they made it easily down the wider ally, almost too easily, but the thought was brushed aside as soon as it came, because at the end of that ally, they walked up the the building with the letters 'Watchers Works' printed on a wooden banner, old, and missing the 'a' and 'r' letters. The company owning the building had moved some time ago, an hadn't been brought by another, since then leaving it empty and abandoned. Graffiti littered the walls, and the windows had cracks etched in the glass.

There was a light within the building, faint, warn, and occupied. The door was slightly ajar, the shadow of a man stood partly aside one of the windows, and quiet voices sounded.

The agent and the ex-mercenary crouched and moved silently, Jake took position by the unoccupied window and Leon kneeled next to the open door, peering in through the gap unknowingly provided. They exchanged another look before focusing, at least 15 men were inside the building, somewhat surprising Leon with the number, both Russian and American alike, some were sitting around a table playing cards, others were sorting through cases and pulling out all sorts of weapons, and the other few were standing.

Leon knew the investigation just got a lot more complicated, because there was more than one group at work here, and Leon wasn't sure if it was a meeting, but rather, a transaction. Was Ada a part of this? And how or why?

"That's a lot of fire power, where does he get all this?" One man asked, nodding to the others who were sorting through the gear.

"Don't ask questions." The larger man from the ally in the street threatened deeply, his back to the door and identity shadowed by the way he was standing against the light. "Were you followed?"

The first man shook his head. "No, not a single person in the street. It's quiet tonight."

"Don't assume. He doesn't hire men who assume too much." The shadowed man said darkly, before repeating, each work thick with warning. "Were you followed?"

The first man changed suddenly, his face becoming serious and his tone was certain. "No."

"Good, so you have his payment, then?" The question was tainted with an order, a threat, should the other not come clean with their end of the deal. This was business after all.

In answer, the other man took the offered silver brief case from another who stood behind him, holding the case in front of him to show his side of the deal.

Leon watched from his position at the door, frowning in deep thought. There was something striking about the larger mans voice, almost familiar, almost sickening, but what ever the thought was didn't seem to give him any hints, couldn't place a name or a face to the feeling. The agent watched as the man took a step forward to the other, and partly out of the shadows, white hair brushed back first caught his attention, and Leon watched as a muscled arm covered in thick black leather reach out to take the silver brief case.

Very faint clicks sounded as the man turned up the numbers that locked the case, before the levers came up with a faint snap and the man opened the lid, silence stretched on for a moment, and one could almost see the nervousness and the tension that gathered in the air.

The case was closed carefully and the locks secured with more faint clicks. The white haired man didn't say anything, but a faint nod could be seen confirming the payment complete.

"What does Demarko what with stuff like that anyway? That shit's dangerous." The first man said, relaxing as the deal was apparently finished.

Jake thought he must have heard wrong, but anger and fury rose like wild fire when he knew that what he heard, was completely right. Neither he or Leon were prepared, however, when the larger man suddenly took something from the folds of the black leather jacket, and a muffled gun shot sounded, not a moment later, the first man fell to the ground with blood pooling, and tension was painfully obvious as the two separate groups pulled guns on each other.

"Don't ask questions." Came the dark tone of the man holding the case, small puffs of smoke trailing from the silenced hand gun. "What happens, and what is spoken, stays in this room. If you step out of line I will personally hunt you down and kill you myself. Marco runs this city now, you answer to him, or you answer to me. Clean out."

* * *

_**[End of FlashBack]**_

_**Who IS this guy? And what's in the case? Oh temptation, temptation...**_

_**I think I've been eating way to many chocolate freckles... but they're so good! Yum!**_


End file.
